NB 15k Real Run

The Nike 10k took quite a bit out of me, so much so that I was feeling under the weather the next few days. It's the feeling of being in a state of general malaise, feeling sluggish and heavy, and probably came from Jamie being ill. Thank God Jamie has since recovered from his running nose and fever but it is likely it got passed on to Nisa and myself.

Going into the NB Real Run, I did little running as a prep. Did an easy 6k in the early week and then was felled by this general malaise. Didn't eat well too, and this contributed to the poor effort today.

Logistics-wise, everything went well. I scouted out the venue yesterday, and arrived well ahead of the crowds this morning. I found a nice parking lot and there out of my car some 75min before the start. This is something that never happens when we race in KL, we arriving there just in time to see the gun go off. It was crowded and the mood great. Except that I was still feeling under the weather; I could tell from my warmup jog.

The NB Real Run has three elements. It's "real" because ther is a trail leg (4.4k), road (10k) and a beach leg (600m). The trail was tough, it was more sandy than trail-like, and it wasn't even flattened by the runners ahead. Singapore runners start off fast, too fast. It's like a storm and everyone is caught up in it. The trail bit was in the beginning and I was knocking out km splits that would bring me to a PR for a 10k!! Too fast!! With this general malaise feeling, together with the fast start, I got killed at the 7k mark. From there, it was going to be a long race with walks interspersed with bouts of running. What was i feeling at this stage? Pain in every area of my body - my thighs hurt, my stomach hurt, i had a blister (this i know because of worn out socks). I limped to the end, piggy-backing on some personal trainer encouraging his ward through the 15k. Everyone has bad days and today was a bad day.

I actually entertained thoughts of doing a DNF.

As my running evolves, I want to remember the lessons learnt. Today, I learnt I cannot start off too fast, and to not get caught up with the pack. Form is important, and there is a 10k form, and a 21k form. Finally, I will eat well leading up to the race, carbs and all. After the race, I had 2 helpings of Nisa's duck pasta and after an afternoon snooze, I was well again.