Love Life Live Strong

I have long heard of Dubai Marathon. Just never thought that one day I would actually be running in this event. These days, with a myriad of choices, this wouldn't exactly be your typical choice for a marathon. Well, that is unless you reside here.  I suppose the real question is: Who would have thought I would end up in Dubai in the first place? The most unlikely of places. Yet, here I am; relocated with a job offer in a private hospital since October 2022. Had to give the 2023 edition a miss due to problematic knees but for 2024, with time and place perfectly aligned, I simply had no excuse to miss it again.   So, I finally signed up for Dubai Marathon 2024 (7/1/24) in September 2023. The hefty registration fee kept me wavering for a while but heck, it is what it is! Thereafter, once signed on, there was just no looking back. Training began in October just as Dubai headed into winter. (And yes, there is a winter season in Dubai.) Morning temperat...

42.2km is a long way. Whatever the reason that possess you to toe the line in the first place, in the end, it will always teach you something about yourself. No matter how seasoned you are. Learn, you will, one way or the other. A week after Prague Marathon in May, with a 3:01:12, the urge was irresistible to sign up for yet another marathon. It's unlike me to miss such opportunity to atone for my sub3 mishap - the ego wouldn't have it any other way.  The rationale is that over the subsequent 6 weeks, I just needed to maintain a good enough mileage and hopefully with a bit of restraint on my pace strategy, the sub3 should be within reach. That was the plan. But as with most plans, life happens - and nothing usually goes according to plan; well, for me anyway.  This time, the weather got warmer a lot sooner than anticipated. (After all it's my first summer in Dubai). And boy was it hot! Felt like running in an oven and despite waking early or running late in the evening, the...

Prague International Marathon 2023  ~~dedicated to the memory of Nick~~  The 27th edition of Prague International Marathon was officially flagged off at 9:00 am on a cool gloomy 7 May 2023 at Wenceslas Square, Mùstek. The ‘Moldou’ by Bedrïch Smetana filled the atmosphere amidst the cheering crowd; One could not but resonate with the solemnity and pain that the arduous journey awaits. Yet the euphonious tune carried you on its wings with such tranquility. Igniting and invigorating the heart. This is the first time a tune has such an impact on me in a marathon event.   Backtrack to just 8 weeks ago. To contemplate participating in marathon races would have been just wishful thinking. The MCL and meniscus tear had been plaguing me for most of the past 3 years. Every attempt to restart training were forced to a halt for weeks/months on end. It was hopeless. I reached a point of utter resignation - perhaps this was the end of the road for marathon running.  Yet only ...

  At this point of my life, running IS a luxury. Having gone through more than 2 years of "wilderness" experience with my broken knees, (MCL and Meniscus tears), to be able to run again is nothing short of a miracle and blessing!  Allow me to introduce myself if you are not acquainted with my story. Every runner has a story to tell. Doesn’t matter if someone else deems it meaningful, glamorous or mediocre. Your story is uniquely yours even if others cannot appreciate or fathom what you have gone through. Allow me too to find those words for you if you are that someone.  I remember my early blogging days when I first started chasing after the elusive sub 3. It was a good ten years ago. Then along came two friends and fellow bloggers. We shared our thoughts with our stories and struggles. Triumphs and failures. Whatever motivated us then, wasn't really about the number of views, followers or comments. We were hanging out, swapping combat strategies and helping each other h...

  The thing about sub3 december 29, 2020  by  francis yeng 26th Feb 2017, Himeji Castle Marathon, was my virgin sub3 experience. Clocking 2:59:45, I finally came to taste the exhilaration of breaking 3 in my running life. Bitter sweet experience. After that, it took another year of laboring through trials and errors in my quest to consolidate and substantiate a workable methodology for a better and consistent sub3 performance. In the process, I discovered a lot of gems and pitfalls of training which I have shared extensively in my posts and social media. In sum, it was down to 80/20 method with emphasis on a solid aerobic base and high mileage of more than 100km per week. Of course there are also the roles of LT training and speed work, but the part that significantly made a huge difference in my results was the aerobic base build-up. End result? Subsequent events culminated in a PB of 2:51:14 in Gold Coast (July 2019). With the advent of newer apps & gadgets, fa...