The completion of another marathon brings immense satisfaction
3 years later at the 2010 Marathon, I have slackened my training and my age had caught up with me, so at the ripe age of 48, I did my 5th marathon registering a time of 5 hours 59 minutes on a hot humid Sunday morning early December 2010. Nothing to write home and tell the folks about but I did it.
I already had a running 'base' of stamina, I could easily do 10 km with little training, so there I was waking up at 3 : 30 am in the morning on race day, putting on my running belt, slotting my power gels by my side, put on my race vest, shorts, and 2 running bottles to carry along the marathon route.
I had by that time become a 'seasoned' marathoner. My serious training to be a marathoner started in 2000, so I had by that time approximately 10 years of training, and had run 4 marathons after attempting my first full marathon in 2003 (Penang Malaysia Marathon).
I had learnt tricks to conserve energy, I learnt the correct pronation techniques to be biomechanically efficient. I had also practised long runs and when would be the best time when I would pop in the power gels and that would give me a boost of up to 1 hour. I had the entire 'bag of tricks' to bring and carry along with you during the race. Let me highlight each and every one of them below :
The End is Near
a) Power Gels (can be bought at any GNC outlet)
This is as advised a low GI (glycemix index) type of energy booster when you suck it, the gel would be absorbed quickly and the energy released in bursts. Flavors are many, ranging from vanilla, chocolate, lemon lime, orange and berry.
I would slot them strategically around my waist and take one after every 10 km completed. I also make sure that I drink lots of water together with the gel as it is highly viscous and gooey.
b) Nathan water bottles - Hand Carry
I bring 2 along. These are about 200 ml and you can fill them up with electrolytic drinks and refill them at the appropriate drinks stations every 5km or 2 km at the later stages.
c) ASICs Kayanos - Best In Class Shoes
I started with many brands, Brooks, New Balance, and finally settled on ASICs which is a runners shoe. They have many shoes for various type of runners. As I am rather heavy set, I decided that I am a normal pronator (not an overpronator ie. flat footed or supinator ie. roll off to the right upon foot strike) so the shoe as recommended by Runners World was the Kayanos which is basically a stability shoe ; it gives the best cushioning for runners who are normal pronators and my footstrike is roughly on the ball of the foot. There are many types of footstrikes, there are those runners who land on their heel (ouch), some on the forefoot.
Fortunately my running gait is normal, so I land on the centre of my feet.
I started buying 2 pairs per year and the shoe series is excellent for me. When I first bought it, the model was series 8 or 9, and now it is series 26.
d) Pain Spray - Keep the cramps at bay
This is a must have. Around the 30 km mark (it varies), the cramps will undoubtedly set in. Maybe, its due to insiufficient training, hence the body is not conditioned enough so its a crummy feeling having to hobble or stop in mid stride when the calves or even the hamstrings start acting up. I originally tried the muscle relaxant gels, but the pain spray is light to carry around the waist (hook it up on your belt) and whip it out when the cramps start to set in. It gives you a feeling of getting a new pair of legs !! Alas the feeling goes away after may 1 - 2 km but it is a must have.
e) Hydration Belt
I normally invest in a hydration belt with small openings (zipped up) to keep essentials such as money, an EZ Link card (for the ride back home on public transport), stuff like that. Nathan Research has various models, so check them out at Running Lab at Velocity (Novena). There are small slots for me to put my pain spray, power gels and the ubiquitous towel.
f) Face Towel
It gets really hot for races which start at 6 am and for ordinary runners like me who finish after 5 hours are looking at 11.30 to noon, so its incredibly humid and sweaty reaching the end of the marathon. I bring along a towel and at the 30 km mark, bring out and rinse it with water to dry up the sticky sweat which at that time is all over my body. At least I feel comfortable running that last 10 to 12 kms.
g) Oakley Sunglasses
This is for my sensitive eyes so Oakleys suit my face to a 'T'. They are lightweight, fit well to the top of my head and so cool to look for the photographers nearing the finish line !
So there you have it, Mark's bag of tricks to help you run better and finish looking cool !
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