KLIM2006: After Thoughts

Some personal lessons learnt while doing the KL Marathon

1. Final LSD - should do the final LSD of > 35km at least 3weeks before race day. I did my final LSD of 35km+ just 2 weeks before, on both the marathons, and then came down with flu about 5-7 days after that LSD because of the low resistance; I barely had time to recover from my flu.

2. Carbo Loading - I started to carbo load 5 days from the race, and really ramped it up in the final 2 days. I also took daily PAN Salt 3 days before race, lots more isotonic drinks 2 days before race. All these could have helped me fend off fatigue/hitting the wall during the marathon, and delayed the onset of cramps till only the 32km mark.

3. Sleep - quality sleep a few days before the race, and 3-4 hours just the night before is sufficiently good

4. Starting Off - I ran the initial 21km a tad faster, and I took about 5km to warm-up and rev up the engines.

5. Warm Up - I did not do any warm-up jogs nor even stretch this time round. I got warmed up as as I ran along at a comfortable pace.

6. Weather - Starting at 5am in cooler weather did help

7. Breathing - breathing by pulling in the tummy, instead of inflating the chest consciously works well to prevent shortness of breath and avoid stomach problems

8. Running Gear - Asics Cumulus with sportiv cushioned socks worked well. Very little perspiration

9. Fuel - Snicker Bars felt much more solid and gave me loads more energy during the run, compared with PowerGels - have to resolve problem of carrying them....maybe I will pin them to my shorts next time

10. Chaffing - only happened to areas where water was accidentally poured over. Need to be more careful when pouring water on head to cool off