Nike 10k
Sunday, August 31, 2008
I completed the Nike 10K Human Race, and I must say, it was a really gruelling piece of shit. Flag off for the first group was at 4:15, and by the 4km mark, I knew the race wasn't going as well as I expected. Every kilometer past the 6km mark was a struggle with my calf and my mind, and I had every longing to give up and walk by the side. Seriously, it wasn't at all like the Standard Chartered 07 run, where I was amazed that my pace was extremely fluid and relaxed. Heck, when I turned into the padang that time, I didn't feel the least bit tired. But then again, that was with a timing of 0:59:31, and this time I have a new personal best of 0:56:09, by my watch. The official results should come out in a week.
All in all, this is my third 10k run, the first being the horribly disorganised Mizuno Wave Run, which I didn't bother to go for this year. It is my second gruelling one. So what was I thinking when I signed up for the Standard Chartered Half Marathon on Dec 7? "A woman who does remember the excruciating pain of delivery will never want to have a second child."
I have attributed a few reasons for my lack of endurance, despite the relatively good timing, though I by no means mean to use them as excuses.
1) Insufficient warm up. My dad says that I obviously didn't warm up enough, what with even upon coming back, my Calf muscles still ached quite badly. Even this didn't happen for the Mizuno run. Ah, the extreme importance of extensive warming up is evident now.
2) Lack of preparation. I deluded myself into thinking that tennis helped, but forgot the fact that the male team always has this tendency to cut short warm ups. Warm ups mainly entail an 8 round run around the track, i.e. 3.2km. They usually do 2 rounds, or sometimes may choose to walk one round and run the other. Sure, you may say, heck, Doesn't mean they don't run then you must follow in their ethos, but seriously. It is very hard to have the will to run the laps when all the other teammates are at the courts playing ball. The last thing too, that I want to do, is get Ms Suey to ask me why aren't I at the courts and why I am so slow in running the laps when all the rest are done, is to say that they skipped their rounds. Sure, that is sure to get me on their good side. If there is one in the first place.
3) The time. This is a debatable issue, but I think running in the mornings or late evenings is better for the cooler climate and cleaner air. The roads were not completely cleared, so car exhaust was still in the air. Coupled with the late midday heat, it may not have been as good a time to run.
4) Clothing breatheability. All runners are forced to wear the Nike 10k shirt, and it is by no means dry fit, although the material seems to try to imitate it. My body got hot quickly at the 3km mark.
Keep in mind again, that these are by no means excuses. I know that if I were a better runner, these things might not matter at all. So don't tell me something like, "face the facts."
posted by joseph at 8:09 PM