My first full marathon

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015 - bib and medal. I am the noob. 

My brother had done marathons, other family and friends had done them, but not me.

In 2014 I did the Standard Chartered Half Marathon in 2:07. At the time it felt like that was a simple achievement of mind over matter. Breaking through a mental wall.

Of course, adequate training was a big part of that breakthrough.

So I wondered; If completing a half-marathon is primarily overcoming a mental limitation, is the same true for completing a full marathon?

I thought about that for seven months. Then in July 2015 I registered for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore full marathon. 



Training

Training had gone well up to that point in the year, and continued into August.

But then came the smog from Indonesia. So in September and October, when the distance training should have happened, training nose-dived due to the pollution. I was not happy.

Fortunately, with November came healthy air, so training could continue, and my goal for the marathon was set: just finish.

Normally for marathon training a distance of about 35km is done once or twice before the big day. Since I lost two months and had to condense the last part of the training into November (the marathon fell on 6 December), the longest run I squeezed in was 20km. One reason for that was I did not want to overtrain. Overtraining raises two risks: injury before the marathon, and being fatigued before the race even starts.

Fortunately I did avoid the overtraining risks, The week before the marathon I only did the tapered-down preparations. A few short runs, lots of hydrating and building up on carbs.

Oh yeah, I'm 53 so that's another reason to apply moderation to the whole program.

There are many things to consider when preparing for the first marathon. I'd just mention a few of the ones that I was focused on.

Over-training has been dealt with.

Protecting the teats 

Nipple protection was a big concern for me. When I did a 10km run in 2010 I got the rude shock of what looked like two ketchup stains on my white t-shirt. Yes, right there where my nipples are. 

There was no immediate pain, but when I took a shower. Ouch!

Since then I've found that any run of more than 7km can result with raw nipples, so I generally use medical bandage tape, waterproof Bandaids (plasters), or a glob of Vaseline to protect them from chafing (and bleeding). I also tried applying stick deodorant, but while the aroma is nice, the protection was inadequate. 

For me these precautions generally didn't last for runs longer than 10km. So I was concerned about a 42.195km marathon. 

What I found to work great after experimenting with various options was 3M Nexcare waterproof transparent dressings, 6cm X 7cm. To maximise the adhesive duration I shaved around my nipples. Also before I applied the dressings, I put some Vaseline on my nipples as a precaution. When I finished the marathon, both dressings were still firmly in place. That was a relief.

A great nipple protector for distance running

As a backup, I put some Vaseline in a small plastic bag that I kept in a small pocket in my running shorts. It was so small and light that it was not noticeable during the run, however it did provide peace of mind in case the dressings fell off.

Otherwise...

Prior to the event i applied the 'do not try anything new' strategy. So my breakfast two hours before the 5am flag off was a banana and oatmeal. In the car I drank Gatorade and ate a small Twix. Plenty of sunblock was applied, and on my way to the start I made a last visit to a port-a-john. While waiting for the flag-off I did my normal stretching routine, and kept repeating my mantra for the morning, "keep a sustainable pace".

The Start

5am on Orchard Road under the Christmas lights

I was in the third wave, the 'under 6 hour' group, and we got the airhorn at 5:09am.

It was dark, so I don't have any photos. 

For the first 25km everything went very well. I was surprised to see some participants walking already after only 10km. The run took us through Singapore's central business district, then out past its new Sports Hub and into East Coast Park. At the end of East Coast Park we had covered 21km and it was time to u-turn back towards the city.

As I passed the 22km mark I was conscious of the fact that I had never run more than 22km, so each step was a new personal record.

Up to that point my mind was really focused on my pace and enjoying the experience.

By the 30km mark we were leaving East Coast Park and the sun was now higher above the horizon. There were fewer trees which meant less shade. It started to get real hot.

Now the song by Warpaint started to play in my head "Love is to die, love is to not die". The 'not die' part helped keep up my determination to run (not walk). 

That worked up until the 33rd km, at which point my legs were begging for a break. So I did a strategic walk, about 300m, and that was enough to get to the next drink station. It was also near a live drum troupe, whose beats got me running again until I reached Marina Barrage at 35km.

Once over the Barrage and taking more fluids at the drinking station there, I got back into a run passing the Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome looking pretty fatigued.

Where did my energy go?

Oh, maybe it's up ahead somewhere?

Yes, I was fatigued coming through this part, but happy to at least be running at a slow pace.

What was next was worse.

The nice part of Dragonfly Lake

Running on asphalt was ok. What came just after this photo was taken is a long stretch of wooden boardwalk. For some reason I just did not enjoy the 'feel' of it and did a bit of walking until we were back on asphalt.

Then came Benjamin Sheares bridge. Usually I like hill running. By now I had done 38.7km, the heat and humidity had taken a toll, and this bridge said to me, "Time to walk, boy." So I obliged without argument. However, the soles of my feet were very sore, so in a way walking was more painful than running. But up that bridge I did walk. At the top, the urge to run down was only quelled by the lack of strength in my thighs. So running first commenced at the foot of the bridge where the road flattened out, the 40km mark, with only 2.195km to go! Yay!

Ok, 40km done, show me to the finish line already!

The last drink station was at the 41km mark, so after the last chance to hydrate all thoughts and whatever meagre energy remained were focused on crossing the finish line, and the sooner the better!

Crossing Esplanade Bridge, the pace picks up, and is that a smile attempting to form?

With each step closer to the finish, my eagerness to complete the race increased. This seemed to open up some reserved energy that steadily brought the pace up from the doldrums to under five minutes per km. 

A nice downward slope turning right off of Esplanade Drive onto Fullerton Road acted like a slingshot that propelled me over Anderson bridge at an ever-increasing pace.

These photos pretty much say it all regarding the final 500m;

Just call me Leonidas

Finally, at the finish line...

Time 5:41:31   Where is Gary waiting for me? (Inside joke)

Was it a relief to get over that finish line?

Well, yeah.

Wow, still able to walk, I accepted a large bottle of water, proceeded to collect my finisher's t-shirt and medal, and tried to open a can of 100Plus while looking around for my friends and my wife amongst the big crowd on the Padang.

Recovery drink and ice-down commences

Fortunately my wife found me sat down on the grass. She iced down my joints and provided the recovery drink and water.

This year the event organisers handed out towels saturated in ice-water, so that was great. It went directly under my cap. I was also given a good dose of sunblock to protect me as I was plopped down in the grass. Even Mother Nature cooperated by providing some passing clouds providing shade.

After catching my breath it was soon time to head for brunch at the Dough Shop
for some killer waffles with sausage and eggs. Oh yeah.

The recovery week

I found some good advice regarding the week after a marathon. Basically, no exercise until the fourth day after the event, and that should be an easy jog or run of short distance. A massage on the first or second day after the event is good for the muscles. Get plenty of rest, hydrate, and continue to consume carbs. It's all about allowing all those muscles to heal, and you do use all of them during a marathon. 

After that first week you can then go back to a 'normal' fitness routine.

Epilogue

For me that was a great experience. Somewhere between the 30th and 40th km I was thinking that there was no need to do another marathon, but two days later I am starting to feel a real desire to do it again.

Unlike the 21km half-marathon, which I found was really a mental challenge, with the full marathon there are physical challenges that can stymie the strongest mind. Staying focused and finding that last trace of energy to finish strong is not easy, but it is beyond satisfying when it happens.

The old saying, 'if it doesn't break you, it will make you' certainly applies to a full marathon.

A marathon is both physically and mentally challenging. That much I learned.

Otherwise one surprise. Whilst my nipples were well protected (pictures are available upon request), I did experience chafing under my arms;

It  should be clear where the chafing was

It seems that this is where my arms were rubbing against the running singlet. Maybe next time I will wear a singlet with bigger arm openings instead of the event singlet. I wonder if any other runners experienced this? I have never experienced or heard of it before.

Anyway. I am very glad I did this marathon. I will probably do another one.

External links

My Strava Run Data