13 April 2008 @ The Fort

1) Nathan Water Belt—I made the right decision to bring my Nathan Water Belt with me even if it was a mid-distance run where I could drink at least twice along the way or not drink at all. But I learned my lesson not to fill up much water to my water jug as I only drank one-half of my water jug. Next time, my water jug will have at least 1/3 part full of water just enough for the 10K distance. Serving bottled water in water stations sometimes is not advisable as only small portion of the water is being ingested by the runner and the rest is being used to douse his head or sometimes being held by the runner while he is running as the water is considered as the “runner’s fuel” that could not be thrown away.

2) Race Strategy—The adrenaline at the start of the race gives me the tendency to run a faster pace than the pace being planned. The plan to have a slower pace at the first 5 kilometers and a faster 2nd five kilometers ( a negative split) was not followed as I ran faster in the 1st five kilometers than the last one. This had been my problem in my past road races. Although I had been getting a better PR time every time I join a road race, I really wanted to have a stronger and faster pace on the last 3 kilometers of a 10K race. Maybe, I will try the “even pace” strategy on my next race and find out which one is the better race strategy. 

3)  Music—It is a proven fact that music boosts ones drive to do something or makes him/her more focused to what is being accomplished. I can still recall that part of the movie “Apocalypse Now” or “Apocalypse Now: Redux” where the character Lt Colonel Kilgore played by Robert Duvall was leading his troops aboard a squadron of helicopters with loudspeakers in the lead helicopter playing the tune of the classical music of Robert Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” on their way to attack a Viet Cong vilage near the sea. The loud sound of the music mixed with the helicopter’s engine showed the faces of the US solders their determination to accomplish their mission to fight the insurgents. In the future, we’ll see which one is more efective, a classical or rock music for runners.

4)  Body Massage—As usual, body massage relaxes the muscles for a better performance during race day. I usually have my body massage on Tuesday and Friday. Sometimes, it is expensive to have a regular massage but the benefits to the body could not be translated to money matters. The lactic acid that is formed due to the wear & tear of the muscles brought about by continuous running are flushed away through the blood as our hard muscles are made to be softer and pliable. In the long run, running injuries are prevented by those regular body massage. Body Massage as part of one’s preparation to a race is a big factor in improving one’s performance on race day. Two days before race day is the best day to have one’s body massage.

5) More Speed Workouts—I need to have more speed workouts ( speed play like “fartleks” and tempo play) in order to improve my time. I need to do some “sprint drills” and “Jumping rope”. Moreso, a serious supplementary weight training program shall be done in order to prepare my running muscles for speed and endurance. In my readings about running, the finish time of a runner deteriorates or becomes slower at the rate of 5% per decade if he/she is steady in his/her training. Let me apply this rule of thumb to myself. In the early 80s, my best time in 10K runs ranges from 40-42 minutes. By this year, my time should had deteriorated by almost 14% and it is translated to 45:36 minutes to 45:53 minutes as my best performance related to my age at present. But I was not steady with my training for the past three decades, thus, it will take me some time to reach this target. So, I guess, 45:30 to 46:00 minutes will be my goal to finish the 10K race in all my trainings. This means that I must be able to sustain a race pace of 4:33 mins-4:35 mins per kilometer in my 10K runs. I hope I will be able to attain this wihout any serious injuries in my future running workouts.

6) Running Shoes—This was my first time to use my ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 in a road race. Knowing that this shoe eases the pain from my right foot, I tested its reliability in road races. I didn’t feel any pains from my right foot during the race but this is the first and last time that I will use this running shoes in a road race. I will be posting a separate story on my shoe review on this particular running shoes.