Less than 8 hours

I woke up this morning after a very weird dream. I dreamt that I was near the starting point with 10 minutes to the start of the marathon and I didn't have my shoes on! So I dreamt that I had to rush home get the shoes then start the marathon like probably half an hour later than the rest of the pack! Crap! Well I was woken up by my sibling. Breakfast was here! :)

Well, now it's past 3pm. 8 more hours to the start of the marathon. 6 more hours to the double marathon. Good Luck Friend! :P Anyway, yesterday I checked my equipment. Running Top! Checked! Shorts with zipper at the bum! Checked! Hard-wired tag! Checked! and Band to put the Hard-wired tag! Checked! I guess I am pretty prepared for the marathon. Except for my shoes and socks, everything else is more or less done. Oh and my gels. Well that one prepare later.

So here's my plan later for the run. With fingers crossed, I would like to complete the marathon running, ie, not stopping to walk at all. But then again, based on my performance for the 21km on last Friday, I think that is wishful thinking. Nonetheless, I will try to run as much as I can and make decisions on the way as usual. Impromptu decisions have always worked for me. :P I guess I will decide how I will complete the marathon when all the pains set in.

I mentioned that I bought two PowerBar Gel and one PowerBar. I'm going to eat the PowerBar after my lunch and I am going to bring the two PowerBar Gels for my run. One of them, hopefully, I can squeeze it into the zipper pocket at my bum in my shorts and the second one I will hold it in my hands. The plan is to eat one after Coastal Road just before a water point. I believe it's the 12km mark. Following that, I will eat my second one at the end of East Coast Park, near the overhead bridge at Victoria Junior College. I believe that is the 22km mark. Lastly, I hope they give PowerBar Gel at near the 30km mark and I will eat that at the 30km mark. Each time I eat, I would like to eat just before the water point so that I can wash the extremely sweet taste off the mouth.

Well, wish me luck. All the best to all my friends running. Run your own race and see you at the finish line! Cheers

Power...

I bought 2 products from Powerbar the other day - Powerbar itself and 2 Powergels. What exactly are they?

PowerBar Performance is an energy bar that provides an optimal amount of carbohydrates to your muscles. At least this is what the webbie says. For the layman like myself, it means it gives you more energy. More energy means you can last longer during the race. I think this is particularly important if you participate in long distance and endurance races. In my previous article, I mentioned something about depleting the energy from the carbohydrates stored in the muscles. I believe that PowerBar Performance basically helps you store more carbs in your muscles.

Well anyway, I bought one bar. Normally, I would have bought the Cookies and Cream flavour. I think that flavour's pretty good. The thing about eating such stuff is that it is very sticky and it is very sweet. And sometimes, taste-wise, it may not be the most appetising treat. However, Cookies and Cream gets my thumb up. The other flavour I have tried was Chocolate. Oh dang that one. Firstly, the colour is like really dark brown and for me it doesn't taste that good at all. In fact, I didn't even finish the bar. I couldn't take it! Haha.. But Cookies and Cream again gets my thumbs up as I said. This time around, I got Vanilla Crisp. I so hope it's as good an experience as the Cookies and Cream. Fingers crossed!

The second product which I bought is PowerBar Gel. I bought two actually. They are satchets of 41g each of different flavours. They are a paste-like substance which again is very sweet. In essence, they are instant energy. You eat them and very quickly some energy is replenished in your muscles again. PowerBar Gel is usually used during race days. For Standard Chartered Marathons, they have been giving this out for a few years now. For Sundown Marathon, they are also giving this out, alongside some bananas. It's pretty okay and I have tried a couple of flavours. Flavours I do not mind are Strawberry Banana and Green Apple. So with regard to PowerBar Gel, they also get my thumbs up. One thing to note though when eating both PowerBar Performance and PowerBar Gel, it is very very sweet. So my recommendation is to have water ready at hand when consuming it. The sweetness is fuah! It's really sweet. So remember, water at hand.

You may say this is an advertising campaign or something. How I wish I am paid for this. Haha. But I sincerely believe that these products have helped me during my races. Perhaps it will be helpful to you. :) Cheers. Three more days. Crap

Carbohydrates and Carbo-Loading

About a week or so back, I did a short article on Calories. Just a recap, Calories are units of energy. Today, we will discuss how to get energy, particularly going slightly into more details on Carbohydrates.

How do our bodies obtain energy? What do they require? Through our consumption, our bodies can obtain energy from carbohydrates, protein and fats. Carbohydrates, in essence, is the fuel for our body. They can be found in most of our staple food such as rice, wheat, potatoes, etc. I guess that's the reason why in all our meals,whether Asian or Western, we usually have a big portion of rice or potatoes. Without them, we will lack the necessary fuel to perform our everyday activities properly.

Scientists and Nutritionists have found that our body can only store a certain amount of energy. It can be stored in the blood, liver and the most of it, in the muscles. So if you run a very long distance, you get your energy from these three places. What happens when carbohydrates are depleted? Your body starts to feel really tired, legs get heavier and perhaps cramps will set in. How do we prevent that or last longer during the race? A means is through Carbo-loading, or sometimes known as Supercompensation.

The aim in Carbo-loading is to try to store more carbohydrates in the muscles. I think the theory is that by having more carbohydrates, especially more than you would normally use, there would be excess. With such excess, it will be stored in your muscles, and maybe the liver as well. If we can store more carbohydrates, means we can last longer during the race. Last longer means potentially less pain. :) So how do we do it? Well I have come across two different schools of thoughts. The first is to eat a lot of carbohydrates a few days before your race. The second is to starve your body of carbohydrates a week or so before the race and about a day or two before the race, stuff yourself full of carbohydrates.

I have been practising the first method for a few marathons. Perhaps it is psychological but I believe it does work for me. What I did was to begin eating more carbohydrates about 5 days before the event. So I ate more rice. I also ate 2 bananas after each meal. Why bananas? I think bananas are a great source of energy (carbohydrates). If not, why do they keep giving it during the marathons? So that's how I followed the first school of thought. By eating more carbs.

The second school of thought is a Starve and Stuff technique. Starve your body of carbs then follow it by stuffing the body of carbohydrates. It is believed that by starving the body of carbs, the body is essentially craving for carbohydrates. It will be desperate to have carbohydrates in its system again. When the stuffing begins, it is believed that the body, now that is rejuvenated with the reintroduction of carbohydrates, will take in more and more carbohydrates than it normally would. This would result in more carbs in the muscles in the event that a starving event occurs again.

So that's how you do carbo-loading. Which is better? I have no idea. I was planning to try the second method but I couldn't. Perhaps I will try it at another race some time in the future. Anyway, I have already begun on Method 1. Four more days to Sundown. Oh well...

Final Week to Sundown Marathon

It's May 26. Five more days to Sundown Marathon. Am I fully prepared for this marathon? I would say no. But considering the amount that I have been running, I would say this would have been the most prepared marathon I am going for.

Since signing up for the marathon, I have been running quite often (with the exception of the past few weeks). I have done a few 10+ km runs. I have done three 21km runs. And I have run parts of the route, such as Bedok Reservoir, along Loyang Avenue and East Coast Park. Considering all these, I would say I'm pretty pleased with my runs.

However, considering the distance covered prior to the race, it could have been better. For the past six weeks, with the exception of last week, I have not covered anything more than 10km per week. In fact, most of these weeks, I have not run at all! That is not a good build up to a race of such distance. The five week or so lay-off was felt very much in my last 21km run on Friday where I struggled on the last 6km or so. Thinking about it, I think that though I have trained hard for Sundown Marathon, it is still going to be a very painful marathon. Sigh.

Nonetheless, it's late now. I do hope I can last longer during this marathon. My last marathon, which I have trained quite hard as well, I managed to keep running until the 29km mark. I do hope to run longer than 29km and hopefully, very hopefully finish running the entire marathon without walking. Wish me luck for the race and I wish all friends and participants all the best for the race! including the friend going for the ultra-marathon! All the Best!

Calories Calories Calories

Everytime you eat something or you go for a run on the treadmill, you see this word - Calories. So what exactly is it? I know it means something and something important but what exactly is it?

Calories are units of energy. No calories no energy. So you eat calories and you burn calories. It's neither good or bad. It is due to one's consumption of calories that makes it bad. If you eat loads of food (ie loads of calories) but you are not very active (ie do not burn off your calories) then you put on weight!

So how much calories do you require a day? I found this webbie which I think it's pretty good in calculating the amount of calories you need a day. For myself, I require 3032 calories a day to maintain my current weight. This is based on the calculation of your Basal Metabolic Rate and adding your level of activity. Basal Metabolic Rate or (BMR) measures the amount of energy you need if you are at rest for the entire day, something like that. It depends on your age, weight, height and even gender. On top of BMR, you would have to include the level of activity you participate in a day, whether you are very lazy and don't move a lot, or you are hyper active and exercise strenuously everyday.

So that's how you calculate how much calories you need a day. I hope you find this information useful. Now for myself, I hope I remember it.

Another Tiring Run

It's 1.30am and I just finish my shower after a really late night run. Before the run, I was pretty lazy. My body has been and still is aching from a much needed gym work out the day before. In addition, I have also done two rounds Bedok Reservoir on Monday. Hence my legs were aching like mad. I believe my laziness and procrastination for today's run is very much justified.

However, as I was busy contemplating whether to go ahead with my run, a really good friend gave me a buzz to check on me? He wanted to know if I have already done my run. Dang that friend. Made me feel so guilty. Well he caught me at a really bad time as I was busy searching for stuff at home. So I made my usual excuses and he gave the usual "that is so expected of you" replies and I guess I couldn't stand the goading. Hence, I gave him some assurance that I may go for that run. The probability of me running after that important phone call jumped from 20% to a 70%. So as I said, Dang that friend.

Well at 10pm, I got into the car and off I went to the far end of Singapore - Changi Village. That place brings back so many memories but these stories are for another day. Anyway, I reached at about 1030 and got started on my run along Loyang Avenue and to Pasir Ris Drive 3. This run was meant to be a build up to the impending Sundown Marathon which is now 10 days away. Crap! Well, the run from Pasir Ris Drive 3 then through Loyang Avenue is so called the home stretch for Sundown Marathon. The purpose of the run was to familiarize myself with the route from Pasir Ris to Loyang Avenue so that I know what to expect during the marathon - Where will there be never-ending upslopes, and where I can enjoy the downslopes.

Running alone at night is really different. In a sense, there is this lack of security. It's dark and the vehicles along Loyang Avenue zoom pass you like nobody's business. For me, Changi brings back mixed memories and a little fear due to the reputation of the place. There are still parts of Changi which makes the hair on the back of my neck stand. Say that I'm a Wuss I don't really care. You don't really know fear until you feel that hair behind your neck stand. Well, that said, I didn't really enjoy my return to Changi that much.

After all that's been said, I completed my run. Made my turn just after Downtown East and made my short pit stop or pee stop there before heading back. Note to self and to anyone who cares to listen. It is uncomfortable to run with a full bladder or a half-full bladder for that matter. All in all, I finished my run in 1hr 20min. I went to a webbie to check the distance and that came to about 12.2km. That's pretty good given the fact of my entire aching body and legs.

At the end of this day, I'm pretty happy with the run. Thanks to my good friend for egging me on. Need it sometimes. (please note the word some and not all the). It's now 2am. I'm trying to sleep later as I try to "acclimatize" to the later hours. Have a good night and see you soon. Cheers

Update on Sundown Marathon Preparation

A nice friend sent me a message and asked me how was my preparation for Sundown Marathon. Well today's the 20th of May. Sundown Marathon is on the 31st of May. That makes 11 days left. For the month of May I have officially only ran three times. The distance added together doesn't even make 21km. So my answer to my friend, my preparation for this marathon is the usual, Screwed!

Well this week would really be important. On Friday, I'll be meeting a few more friends for a very long run. Hopefully 21km just as a final build up to Sundown. I hope I survive this Friday. Till then, I hope to update you guys soon. My laptop is down and I have no internet access at all. But nonetheless, I will try to update you guys. Cheers

What's your weight?

I'm back after a nice family trip out of sunny Singapore. Actually, I just came back from my first run since my return. Didn't want to run but figured my tight schedule coerced me into making myself run. But nonetheless, I felt quite good after my run. I did about 30 min and I guess it's about 5.5km. That's my guess. Will try to find out the distance when I have more time at my computer.

Well anyway, I came back and measured myself on the weighing machine. I am so glad to report that I have not gained weight during my enjoyable and delicious time overseas. I'm still at my average weight of XXkg. :P For the past 6 years at least, I have not gain nor loss much weight. My weight hovered at XXkg plus minus 1kg. I personally feel pretty good at myself.

But how do you know whether you are overweight, underweight or just nice? To me it's all about personal preference. What's important is to feel comfortable with yourself. But officially, I believe that the Body Mass Index (BMI) is used by international and the local organizations to see if you are overweight or not.

So what is it? BMI is a measure of a person's weight to his/her height squared. So if you are 1.8m tall and 75kg, then using a calculator, your BMI is 75kg divide by 1.8(squared). That gives you 23.1. That makes you just nice. A BMI under 18.5 means you are underweight. Above 25 means you are overweight. In between that and you are just nice. Some consider that Asian men above 23 to be overweight.

For myself, I have a BMI of 24.9. Does that make me overweight? In my humble opinion, no. At my slimmest and my biggest, I have always been this weight and hence this BMI. I like to tell myself that I have big and heavy bones. Haha. Hence I have never thought it to be a problem.

Well then how do you know whether you are overweight or not? I'll try to do more research and keep you updated. Cheers