Jurong Lake Run 2011

This will be my first 10km race this year and in its inaugural year it will be the first race to be held in the western part of Singapore. It is always nice to run in a new route with scenic environment around Jurong Lake.

I was feeling excited as I wonder how will I fare since it has been a long time that I last compete in a 10km race, and to be exact it was almost a year ago in the Nike City Run on 24 Oct 2010 so I was a little doubtful on how fast should I run since I expect myself to be fitter as compared to 10 months ago, and especially now with the latest SCKLM ½ marathon PB under my belt.

As I looked back on my recent weeks of interval trainings and speed workouts, and also a check on the McMillan Calculator I felt 4:30km/min would be the right pace to run throughout the race and so ideally it will be a 45min 10km finish.

It was almost 7am as I was still queuing up for the toilet before I managed to complete my usual warm up run plus stretching, I was a bit late and did not have the chance go nearer to the starting point. But well, I will just hope that I need not have to waste too much time and energy waving in and out later.

Soon as the race was flag off at 7:30am, it was initially quite crowded as I opted to run more to the side which was a bit more spacious and surprisingly I was too fast and managed to clock 4:06min for my first 1km. Somehow I was feeling great and excited as I continue my fast pace with 4:17min/km for my second km.

At 3km I felt the need to slow down as I was starting to breathe harder, so I decide to drop my pace to 4:30min/km and the plan then was to stick to this pace throughout. I was doing fine as I managed keep to the right pace for the next 3km to 5km, it was a really tiring first 5km which I certainly over paced myself, to my surprised I clocked a sub 22min for the first 5km.

As my initial fast pace was coming back to haunt me I was slowing down from 6km onwards and to make things worse I started to suffer pain from side stitch, as I was still hopeful for a PB I tried hard not to slow down as I was hoping that I will get over it soon. Over 7 – 8km my pace continued to deteriorate to a terribly slow 4:47min/km and 4:51min/km, and with the pain persists I finally decide to give up my target for a PB and drop my pace to above 5min/km for recovery.

The slower pace certainly helps in my recovery but by then it was already 9km into the race. Feeling better, I started to overtake runners around me and also some Safra runners who overtook me earlier on. With the chance for a PB totally gone, my thought then was to just get over the race as I up my pace for a strong finish to recover some lost ground and finally crosses the finishing line strongly.

It was a tough and competitive 10km race which I was trying to “test” my fitness level, as the 1st 5km was almost an all out pace averaging 4:22min/km, a huge difference from the 2nd half of the 5km average pace of 4:50min/km. I really need to keep check of my pace for the coming Yellow Ribbon Prison 10km run in September.

Official results

RANKING	GUN TIME	NET TIME	SPLIT 4KM	SPLIT 6KM
74	0:47:21.37	0:46:37.00	0:18:05.56	0:27:41.58

Lap (5km)	Time (min)	Avg Pace (min/km)
0-5	21:48	4:22
6-10	24:11	4:50

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	00:46:39	10.18	04:34
1	00:04:06	1.00	04:06
2	00:04:17	1.00	04:17
3	00:04:24	1.00	04:24
4	00:04:30	1.00	04:30
5	00:04:31	1.00	04:31
6	00:04:37	1.00	04:37
7	00:04:47	1.00	04:47
8	00:04:55	1.00	04:55
9	00:05:08	1.00	05:08
10	00:04:44	1.00	04:44
11	00:00:34	0.18	03:08

Standard Chartered KL Marathon (21km)

It is my second ½ marathon race in KL this year and unlike Energizer night race and Sundown marathon it was a more interesting race running through the heart of the KL city and certainly more challenging as it involves a number of up and down slopes, but luckily they were not really long and steep ones. I would always hope to do well but because of the terrain, I felt getting a PB would be tough, although I still hope for a 100min half marathon PB. This time round I was better prepared mentally, knowing my fitness level better especially after what happened at Sundown marathon, I will expect myself to slow down after 5 – 6km.

Just before the race I managed another rush to the toilet before I did a 2km warm up run, I was a bit late to the start point but still managed to have some quick stretching but with no time left to move further up front. Anyway I felt it’s okay as probably no PB for me today :P. But most importantly, this time round I make sure I am properly rehydrated after my warm up runs, a lesson I learned from after my recent Sundown Marathon warm up.

As the race flags off at 6:15am it took me slightly more than 2mins to reach the start point. My first km of 5min/km was way below my intended half marathon pace of 4:45min/km, no choice as I was behind groups of slow human walls. Luckily things started to pick up from second km onwards as I managed to dictate and maintained my 1:30hr marathon pace. Feeling good and comfortable with my pace as I took 23:36min to hit the first 5km mark, feeling glad especially after a slow start to the race.

As I was mentally prepared, I tried to keep my pace really close to 4:45min/km, I was hoping that I could hold out longer. Soon it was 10km and I took 47mins, and as expected I was slowing down. I knew I could not go any faster but to keep as close to 4:45min/km as possible. Nevertheless I was glad to have hit the halfway mark.

The race from 11km onwards was a test of my discipline to keep up with my race pace, especially the up and down slopes making it really difficult for me to maintain a consistent pace, but I felt not too bad as I still managed to keep it under 4:49min/km, at least with an average of 5km from 10 to 15km very close to 4:45min/km.

The race is always tough after 16km as I needed some extra push factor, it was more motivating to run with others at my race pace and along the way I found some “pacers” as we run for about over 5 to 6km pacing and pushing each other to the limit. But soon my pace eventually deteriorated to 4:55min/km before I managed to pick up again with 3km to go, it was where I managed to make up for some lost time with a faster pace of 4:29min/km before I decide to slow down a little as I felt the need to reserve some energy for the final push.

After 20km I felt 1:40hr finish is no longer possible but I thought I will just run as fast as I could, and surprising that I could continue running faster and faster at 4:23min/km and with the crowds cheering on I managed to round up my final 270m in 48secs with a pace of 4:05min/km, and as I got closer I notice that the my gun time was showing close to 1:42:50hr soon as I cross the finish line. A quick check on my garmin and it shows 1:40:40hr, certainly a pleasant surprise especially when I was really slow from 16 – 18km.

It was a pleasant surprise as I never expect a PB, not when after only one month ago when I just got a PB from Sundown marathon and moreover I never thought I could do it on uneven up and down running route. Lastly and most importantly it was achieve with a negative splits, however it would better if I can keep a more consistent over the last 6km as 1:40:38 finish would not be possible if I had not run faster at 19km and 21km onwards.

Rank	BIB No	Name & Category	Gun Time	Net Time
42	E-06356	Kenneth Goh Hiong Hong Men's Open - Half Marathon (Men)	01:42:51	01:40:38

5k split (Garmin)

Lap (5km)	Time (min)	Avg Pace (min/km)
0-5	23:36	4:43
6-10	24:02	4:48
11-15	23:50	4:46
16-20	23:51	4:46
21-21.27	05:11	4:05

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	01:40:40	21.27	04:43
1	00:05:00	1.00	05:00
2	00:04:40	1.00	04:40
3	00:04:40	1.00	04:40
4	00:04:35	1.00	04:35
5	00:04:42	1.00	04:41
6	00:04:44	1.00	04:44
7	00:04:54	1.00	04:54
8	00:04:45	1.00	04:45
9	00:04:47	1.00	04:47
10	00:04:52	1.00	04:52
11	00:04:47	1.00	04:47
12	00:04:43	1.00	04:43
13	00:04:49	1.00	04:49
14	00:04:45	1.00	04:45
15	00:04:46	1.00	04:46
16	00:04:48	1.00	04:48
17	00:04:55	1.00	04:55
18	00:04:49	1.00	04:49
19	00:04:29	1.00	04:29
20	00:04:50	1.00	04:50
21	00:04:23	1.00	04:23
22	00:00:48	0.27	02:57