Sunday, September 06, 2009

Learning more with longer distance

Last weekend, I completed my first 21 km/13.1 mi run while yesterday, I barely survived 25 km/ 15 mi. As I was wearing a lose t-shirt, my nipples were sore from constant rubbing of the t-shirt during the 21 km run. So, for yesterday's run, I donned a tight-fitting Under Armour shirt which extirpated the abrasion. However, my inner thighs suffered from abrasion as my heavy legs began to rub against each other. I would need to wear running thighs.

Running the last 5 km/ 3.1 mi was hot since the sun was climbing to its peak height and I had ran out of water. Wearing a shade did not helped much with the 12 o'clock sun. I would have to wear a cap. The marathon on Oct 10 will start at 8am. Projecting that I will take at least 5 hours plus, I would still be running around 1 pm. So, I am thinking of running faster in the morning to cover as much as I can before the heat drain me of my energy.

After a long run, that whole day would be gone as I was exhausted and aching. Marathon day is drawing closer and I have to keep up with the grueling training. My knees are aching and complaining at the 10 km/ 6.2 mi run on weekdays. Sometimes, my knees buckled at going down steps. I will have to see how far I can beat up this tired body of mine.

4 comments:

The Scientist said...

wow! way to go!! a friend whose sister ran the Berlin marathon told me she said the last 12 km was just driven by adrenaline and nothing else. another friend's advice (from his experience in the Singapore marathon) was to use vaseline for the armpits, nipples, inner thighs, and other places that will be subjected to constant friction. some people wear two pairs of socks. i used padded ones. and my cousin who's a fitness instructor advised me to stretch for at least 20-30 minutes after every run. for me, putting 1-2 days per week aside for stretching courses at the gym helped in my recovery.

Paul said...

Ya, I walked a lot for the last few k. Will try vaseline. I don't have blister on my feet so far.

I don't pay too much attention to stretching. Have to re-think about it.

Thanks for your tips!

Charles Sng said...

Way to go bro! But listen to your body if it really wanna take a break! Long term health is still more important than short term achievements...

Jiayou for the run! :)

The Scientist said...

you're welcome! i'm just paying it forward. got a lot of tips and encouragement from other people.

no i'm not preparing for a race at the moment. just keeping a certain fitness level so that i can run 5-10 km at any given time. i wanted to do one half this month (after my first and last race in end March). but as i had the impression from boss that i will be finishing up, i decided to conserve my energy and time. apparently things are not going the way as projected.

i will run the half marathon again in March 2010. told myself that i will only attempt a full after i complete 3 halves comfortably (i.e., my knees are not completely gone). :P those chondroitin and what-nots (stuff for joints and cartilage) that i took probably only had a placebo effect.

oh, i cannot emphasize enough that STRETCHING is very important. also for your long-term health. there are those very tiny muscles in our feet that theoretically should be worked on as well, but i don't know how to describe via mail. maybe we can set up a webcam appointment next time. haha.

actually i should run more (and further) lah. i just make up excuses for myself each time. would it help you if i tell you how much i run each week, and you tell me how much you run every day? haha...