A race that I’m sure I will remember in years to come.
Race preparation begun when the Tokyo Lottery opened in Aug
2015. Third time applying for this race, and third time lucky. Results were
announced in September 2015 and when I got the email that I got a slot in mid
September, I registered for it immediately. ( Of cos I won't miss this
opportunity isn't it. 360,000 people applying for 35,000 slots. ) Heard so much
positive reviews about it and being one of the World Majors Marathon, I was
superbly hyped up about it. Immediately started planning for the trip.
After evaluating my own fitness at that point of time (Sept
2015), decided that a Sub 4 should be attainable if I put my full efforts into
it. Did my first Full Marathon when I was 18 yrs old, but seriously, this is
the first time ever I've committed myself to a full marathon training. Going or
a world major in a perfectly cooling weather, how can I not aim for a PB right?
Anyhow, I set sight on a training plan I found online, a 16 weeks plan by Asics
and the official training period will begin in November.
9th Nov was the first day of my 16 week plan, and although
the first week mileage was supposed to be manageable, I was aching by the end
of the first week, feeling the full intensity of it. 5 days a week, with
mileage starting from 38k to 70k a week, I wonder to myself if I could sustain
through this. Would I have enough rest, would I last the distance? Thankfully,
by the end of 2nd week, my body started getting used to it and I was feeling
better. And so I followed through the training day by day, without missing a
single training for the first 6 weeks.
The major difference in this training plan from all of my
previous training is the amount of speed work it involves. In general, there is
1 x speed training, 1 x Tempo, 1 x slow jog , 1 x easy run, 1 x LSD a week. The
speed work and tempo involved really did help and I feel this is the major
difference that eventually help me obtained my target.
Throughout the 16 weeks, it was plagued by numerous work
travel, holidays ( x'mas, new year, CNY, ) and as much as possible, I tried to
limit the disturbance to my training plan. Flew into KL in the morning 7am, and
fly out by 8pm to come back for a run. If I can't I will make sure I brought my
shoes along and complete my run in the hotel gym instead. Missed minimal
training, and I must say consistency is really the key.
1 major incident happened just 1 week before the race. I had
a stye on my lower right eye lid, and it was so swollen with pus that it hurts.
Dr advised me to wait it out, but I insisted on it being cut and drained.
That's the only way I can continue to race I guess. Thankfully, after enduring
much pain, and rested for 3 days, I got well enough to fly.
And with the stye out of the way, we flew into Tokyo 2 days
before the race on Friday morning. Landing at Tokyo Narita airport, immediately
could feel the cooling temperature of 6 degrees. First thought was .... am I
REALLY running in this temperature.. Can I really run in my prepared attire?
With barely 2hrs of sleep on the flight, we got our adrenaline
pumped-up and we did a full day of sight seeing around Tokyo, ending with a
carbo loading dinner with the Singapore Contingent. A friendly bunch of running
enthusiast, being taken care of by the 2 wonderful host, Makiko and John.
Thanks so much for making us feel welcome. =)
D-Day -1 (Day before Race day)
At the Friendship Run 2016.. It was all Fun Fun Fun !!
The next day begun with a Friendship run ( 5km, meant for
family and friends of runners ) The race starting time was about the same as
the race itself, and I went out with lin to have some fun, bask in the fun
atmosphere. Temperature was expected to be the same for race day and it was the
perfect opportunity to try out my intended race day attire. Cold before the
start of the run, but once the run begins, it felt comfortable and that gave me
the confidence to just go with my short compression top and long tights. Met
some nice runners from Malaysia and Taiwan along the way too! Would recommend
first timers to join this event as it's a good way to explore the finishing
area and get some ideas on where to meet up after the race.
There after, we went to the race expo to collect the race
pack. My goodness, the scale is HUGE... I’m sure you can spend several hours
shopping there if you want to.
Here I come Tokyo Marathon 2016..
Race day
Just before the Baggage Deposit... all eager to go..
Race begin at 9am, and since the start point is walking
distance from the hotel, I only woke up at 7am. Temperature in the morning was
at a cool 6 degrees. Had my breakfast with coffee before I slowly strolled to
the starting point. I was in for a bit of surprise when I went into the runners
zone though. There are demarcated entry points for runners with different
expected finishing time. ( I registered under 4hrs, and so being given a bib
that start with F.) and I'm only allowed to enter only via GATE 4. It was ONE
BIG round to the other side of the starting pan, since the center area were all
blocked. Once I entered the runner's zone, had to look for the Baggage deposit
vehicle, which was hard to find if you don't read Japanese. After asking
several volunteers, one finally pointed me to the correct place and I was left
with 5 minutes to get it deposited AND get to the starting pan. The cut off
time for the entrance to the entry pan closes at 8.15am, and if you miss it,
you have to begin at the back of the pack. Not the ideal way to start a race
where I'm aiming for a PB. So I rushed and chiong to the starting pan just in
time at 8.13am. (Strongly recommend you to go there early next time)
45mins to start of the race, that's really a bit long to
wait under the cold weather. Luckily, I had my poncho on, which helped quite a
bit, and mingling within the crowd does help to keep some warmth. Did some
stretching to keep the muscles warm and was actually a good time to mentally
run through the race. Looking around aimlessly, found many anxious looking
faces. Everybody seem to be in deep thoughts.
15mins before the race, the race organizers started
introduction of the elite runners and played some songs where many of the
participants sang along ( I suppose it's their national Anthem). All the
announcements were made in Japanese and many foreigners like me were lost.
Except the occasional English word, it was all but @#(*@#@. haha.. Not that it
affects anything, but it would have been good if there were some translation.
Shortly after that, they flagged off the wheel chair
category first. And 5 mins later they flagged off the much anticipated Marathon
category.
PHEEE!!!!!!!!
As we run past the starting point...
Finally the race I've been waiting for begins! As the huge
crowd slowly move towards the start point, I begin my run 7mins behind gun
time. around 0917H.
Here I go !
As expected, first 2-3km of the race was packed with people,
and the pacing was affected. (Intended race pace was 5:25-5:30 min/km) Looking
at my garmin, I clocked 3.6km and was on pace... but to my horror, I saw the 3k
distance marker slightly in front of me and I'm actually 90s behind time! This
doesn't sound a lot, but imagine if every 3km there is an extra 600m for me to
run at this pace, I will be more than 15mins behind time by the end of the
race! And so, to makeup for lost time I up-ed my pace to 5:15, hoping to crawl
back the 90s by the 10km mark.
10km
Focused on the timing, I didn't even notice the camera man
56.02. As I pass by each distance marker, I check my garmin
and the distance seems to be slowly growing away from it. ( At 10km distance marker,
it was 10.7km on garmin). But good thing was, I managed to crawl back the lost
time by 9km mark and I'm actually ahead of time at the 10km mark! ( 56.02
instead of 57.00min ). Feeling comfortable with the pace, I carried on with it.
20km
Passing the 20k mark was a joy... we are erm.. half way
there... (almost)
1:51.00 , the time I went past the 20km mark, 3mins ahead of
time. Still feeling fresh. I know today is a good day and I'm right on course.
Spirits are high and I continue with the same pacing.
Course was scenic, with a zillion of supporters cheering you
from start to the end, the experience was amazing.. really... every single
meter of the route was lined with supporters and they cheer you along even when
they don't know you. It's unlike Singapore visitors, only cheering for their
own friends. The Japanese supporters make you feel welcomed and gives you that
extra 10% motivation force. The most cheered on runners were those who were in
Mario, beer, minion mascots,etc. The supporters screamed whenever one runs past
them. The feeling is surreal.
30km
Passing the 30km mark in high spirits
2:46.05. By now, I'm 5mins ahead of time and I was actually calculating if it's possible to do a 3:50 race. 12km in 1hr 3mins is do-able, but not sure if I want to risk jeopardizing my sub 4 hrs plan. Decided to hold it off for a while just in case I hit the wall. True enough around 32km mark, legs start to feel the fatigue, and the lack of mileage from the last few weeks of training started getting to me. Though pace was still sustained, I had to put in more efforts to maintain it. Weather was getting a little hot though, with the sun out in full force, 13 degrees felt really warm to run in.
Spotted the camera man and I ran towards him.. hahaha
35km
This is where they always say, in marathon, this is where
the race really begins. I started feeling tightness in my right shin, right
hamstring and left calf. Worried that it will become a full blown cramp, I took
in more isotonic drinks and grabbed the supporter's Salonpas spray and spammed
it on my legs. Slowed down the pace slightly, ( 5.40 / km), hopefully will
recover within 1-2km.
Oh ya. at this point, there were supporters offering Matcha
swiss roll, mochi, coke, bananas. I randomly grabbed a cup, and it contained a
warm Azuki soup ! My goodness, how shiok is that. You can't imagine the
pleasant surprise I had when I drank it. Shiokkk.....
38km
The pain is shown all over the face...
Blah.. the cramp was almost getting to me and I had to come
to a stop to do a stretch. Luckily I stretched it in time before it got full
blown. ( my cramp can get so bad I can't even walk ). Had a good stretch of
~1min and I slowly jog back into pace. At this point of time, I was really
screaming to myself, "Come on... just 4km. don't let this happen to me,
I’m almost there”
Thankfully, managed to pull it off and the cramps went away
after a while. At the same time, there were a few slopes to battle with. Yes,
consecutive 4 slopes to battle at 38km, which doesn't bode well with tiring
legs... one step at a time, one slope after another and I'm one step closer to
the finishing line.
Onwards I move..
40km
Passing the historic 40km mark... running.. I know it's
close....
3:43:23. I know I got this in the bag already. Although I
lost 2 mins in the last 5km, I know I will finish it under 4hrs, even if I have
to brisk walk finish in 16mins. I saw a photographer by the side and I ran
towards him, punching in the air. lol ! Spirit is high and you can feel it in
the air. Everybody around me was upping their pace for the final stretch.
Hooha!
Hooha !!
41km
Heard my beloved darling shouting for me. A pleasant
surprise and a much needed motivation during this last stretch. I shouted back
" I'm on target!! " as I trod forward, inching towards the finish
line.
4.... I'm coming in under 4.....
42.195km
Really happy I completed it !
3:55:25 . My official time and an official PB. As I ran
along the final 100m of the course, I was rather emotional, as I think back the
past 16 weeks of training, the sacrifices. It was all worth it. I had finally
broken the 4hrs mark.
Look at the crowd that completed before me...
A sub 4hr marathon timing isn't impressive, especially to
all the season runners, but to me it is a good timing, for I'm never really
into marathons and this is the first time I've fully committed to a training
program focused on running only. For sure, the training program work and I
obtained my Personal best with some capacity still left in my body. I could
have probably went a bit faster, but this training program made me realise how
much I miss triathlon training and racing. I still prefer multi-sports. =P and
I will head back to 70.3 after this.
Joy is overwhelming...
Special thanks to all my training buddies, joining me and
following my pace for many many many of my training runs. Chen Qifeng, Alvin
Low, Leon Soh, Miaowen Tay, TC, you guys were awesome, as always.
Thank you my dear..
It's never being easy training for races, and as a age
grouper who doesn't have the luxury of time, having a supportive family is
supremely important. I'm really blessed to have a supportive wife who caters to
my training needs, eating with me after runs, joining me for some 11pm late night
runs and understanding my need for early night rest during weekends especially.
(Every Sunday is LSD, starting from 6am). Not forgetting waking up early on
race day to brace the cold with me to the starting point, running around to
catch me pass by the route just for that 15s, and then find her way in a
foreign land to meet me after the race. Really, it's not easy supporting a
race. ( Can Let me experience supporting you for a race too?! =p ) I Can never
express my gratitude enough. Thank you Lin Tay. Thank you for your
unconditional love and support.
On an ending note, I really enjoyed this Tokyo Marathon
2016, little wonders why it's being listed as one of the World Majors. For
anybody who wants a race with awesome atmosphere, I would strongly recommend
you to try your luck and ballot for a slot!
Good luck !!
