That is the title of this post on SGRunners on June 7, 2008 by saazhead:
Hi everyone. I am a long time marathoner and recent (past year) triathlete.
The Sundown was my 24th marathon since 1998 and my 7th in Singapore. I ran my first one in Singapore in 2000 where 400 or so brave runners showed up at the National Stadium to run a nice course through Singapore except for the fact that there were only 8 aid stations for the entire race and the fact that roads were not closed. It really stinks to be standing on Orchard road after having run 37km waiting for the light to turn green!!!! What a difference the running environment is now in Singapore. Really quite amazing too witness how fast it has exploded.
My other marathons include NYC, Chicago, Houston (4 times), Austin (Texas), San Diego (Rock-n-Roll), Marine Corps (Wash DC), Grandfather Mountain (twice -- in Boone, North Carolina), Munich, Eindhoven (Netherlands), Leiden (Netherlands), Barcelona, Ieper (Belgium), and Disney. A very nice variety of big marathons and very small ones (Ieper was less than 400 people).
My PR is 3:23 with all but one less than 4 hrs (second Grandfather Marathon with a hamstring that gave out at about 25 km). I am trying to chase a fleeting goal of qualifying for Boston (I now need to beat 3:20:59).
I started triathlons in an effort to cross-train as I had a few nuicance injuries (mostly hamstring) for several years that irritated my running. My first tri was the Singapore Ironman 70.3. Not exactly the smartest distance for a newbie (espcially since I ran the SBR 1/2 marathon a week before), but it was fun nonetheless!!!
I run almost exclusively in the wee hours of the morning (done by 6:15 am except for long runs) as it is cooler and I simply have too many other things in the evenings with 3 kids.
Right now, I am hoping to see the Lion City Marathon confirmed. I ran a 3:34 at Sundown and considering the course was long, I think I am getting close to be within striking distance of a Boston qualifying time. I am anxious for another marathon soon as my legs feel fresh and I am running my fastest since probably 2005. I have the OSIM and 70.3 tri's coming up, so that will be a chance for some good cross-training to help stay injury free.
Hope to see the running environment in Singapore continue to blossom!! For those running the Saucony Passion Run tomorrow, see you there!!! I'm running the 15 km as a "nice" recovery run from the Sundown.
...
For my first marathon (Jan 1998), I followed a training program by Jeff Galloway (first book I think). I was starting primarily as a 5 or 10km runner usually running only ~7km 3-4 times per week. The program included building up mileage slowly. I would typically run 12-14 km twice per week, 8 km twice per week, and then a long run (building up to about 37 km) once per week (so a total of 5 days per week). In the middle, I started hill work (on a treadmill since I lived in Houston at the time, which is pancake flat). After ~4-6 weeks of hill work, I then started speedwork (1600 meters at 6:45 pace, walk 400 meters, and repeat up to 10 times). By the time the marathon rolled around, I was totally burned out and running in knee braces!!!
Every marathon since then, I have taken a more moderate approach. I now run 8-10 km three times per week at a pretty healthy pace (4:15-4:30 per km). Once per week, I do a long run. It is ~18 km one week and building up to 38-40 km in the alternate week. I typically try to have 4-5 runs over 32 km during training for each marathon. I run all of these near race pace. Bottom line........I run only 4 days per week, but I make sure each run is at a strong pace. I do not really do the so-called Long Slow Distance (LSD), which many training programs encourage a person to run 1:00+ per km slower than race pace.
My runs typically are near the Botanic Garden going down Holland to Ulu Pandan to Clementi to Bukit Timah and repeat depending on how far I am trying to go. If I happen to have a marathon on a hilly course, I will go up and down Mt. Faber 5-6 times.......you can see some strange things at Mt. Faber at 4:30 in the morning!!!!!
To cross train, I swim 2-3 times per week at 1500 meters per swim. I am a really slow swimmer (actually had a faster running time than swimming time during the Singapore biathlon this past March). I bike at least once per week (usually 30 km) and add 1-2 other days of biking if I have a triathlon approaching. I typically bike only up to 45-50 km per ride even if training for a longer distance triathlon.......the bike is rather easy for me due to a strong running base.
The bottom line is that every runner has a different training style that suits them best. For me, fewer days per week but harder runs works best.
BFG note: saazhead is certainly an inspiration to many, not least of which is yours truly!
imaRunner is a series about ordinary people and their not-so-ordinary running achievements.
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