Oh My Seoul! Savouring the Seoul-ful moments in Seoul Marathon 2019

A mere 28 days. And the count down starts in less than a minute. The cold still air of Seoul was as chilling as it promised to be. Hearts were racing. The excitement was palpable. Looks like one of those defining moments poised to go down in history. For better or for worse…

28 days. That was HK a short while ago. What was racing through my head was not the debate of whether or not there was enough recovery. That is already a foregone conclusion any rookie would be able to tell. No, I was only concerned about two things. Would I be ready to do my best? If so, what IS my best?

Post HK euphoria of 2:53:52 ended with the realization that it’s only a figure that I would have to go on cracking. Not that it has to be that way but since I don’t plan on hanging up the shoes, then the logical thing to do now is to be like Dory: keep moving forward. And see what I can discover along the way.

So, training took on a modified form of maintenance and tapering. From 100km, down to 60 on taper weeks; injected with a few tempo runs here and there for some much needed fast twitch vibes. Looking back at my log, I am still a bit baffled that this would even pass as “training”. It’s one of those kinds of work that you would hesitate to read out loud to the class. Unless of course, if you’re the class clown.

Nevertheless, in that remaining one minute, I reminded myself about running IN THE MOMENT. Move one step at a time, one KM at a time. And see how it unfolds. Set no limits on pace. Capability is an after effect. And be still and quiet. For in quietness is His Strength. I already knew He is with me. Now, I just have to run as though I believe that.

Gun off in GuangHwaMun Square was not as elaborate as places like Tokyo or Boston. No confetti flying everywhere except the plastic ponchos and disposed jumpers. Koreans are more subtle, and down to earth, I guess. I moved quickly to the fringe to avoid being bogged down. No sooner did I move, then I realized that many were just as fast: It would seem that the race is on!

Truthfully, this was more to my liking. I quickly settled into a comfortable pace of 4 min. But lo and behold, I was still overtaken left and right by some folks. So this is what they meant by a “fast course”!! The excitement quickly gave way to a more practical issue: Is this 4min pace sustainable???… Pretty much the same issue every time…I know. But a very important one nonetheless. No use feeling high for the first half just to pay dearly in the end.

However, the mind took it’s sweet time to process what was already unfolding before me. It’s still not woken up to the idea of pace vs reality. So when I crossed the 5km mark, the 20:01 that registered didn’t quite compute until a moment later: gee…I may be going too fast?!?

Before you know it, I was already at the 10km mark. 40:06 had just lapsed and I was still flying. Slow down, mad cow! I must have overridden the directive because the body was just having too much fun to give in. And this madness went on unchecked. Was I too “in the moment” or should I slow down? I was getting no feedback from the supratentorial higher functions. It is a baffling experience: You know you shouldn’t but somehow you think you should.

I had to rely on my perceived effort. I have been here before as in HK. But being in the moment, the mind did not perceive this as danger. I wouldn’t blame this on endorphins or adrenaline, or even the caffeine from gels…it just felt RIGHT to push on. Flanagan once said: “Run with your heart to be unstoppable”. I guess that was my anchor at that moment.

15km done. I clocked 1:00:15…

I would later clock a half marathon PR of 1:24:15…

And after that, more worried than astonished, I clocked a PR of 2:00:41 @30km…

Timely gels at intervals of 10, 20, 30, and 35 did help but the strength was just streaming through like a good 5G Wi-Fi. I did falter after 35km but the perceived effort was just as constant. It was only in hindsight that I realized that my pace from 33km onwards was fluctuating more.

Cleared 37km in 2:31. I was heading towards a good finish but champagne could wait. I still had to storm through the final 5km in 20 odd minutes to break even with my HK time. Darn!!! Would I cut it?

38km was a molehill to some but with time cutting in dangerously close on me, it was enough to slow me down to my slowest lap pace of 4:22. I saw it slipping away. But tried to make up for the lost time in the last few km. Butterflies started churning havoc in the stomach …darn again! I must be near my limit.

As with all marathons, it does not matter how hard you’ve worked in the first 35km when it comes to clocking a sub3, you could single-handedly throw away EVERYTHING in the last few km. All you need to decide is: How bad do I want this!

I was in no doubt. I didn’t come all the way here just to throw in the towel now. I know it is almost cliche to say: Go hard or Go Home. But admittedly, its a timely and befitting cliche.

I held on to pace and guarded as much to my form. The thing is, reality has a way of going slow-mo only on hindsight. When you are there, at that moment, EVERYTHING was just unfolding at lightning pace. I.e. I don’t THINK! I couldn’t, to be honest. I just ran as hard as I could. Many alongside me echoed that sentiment. Some shouted out loud. You knew it was the indomitable spirit crying out: the soul’s desperate “release” was “audible” in the final stretch towards the finish. It was surreal but eerily comforting and empowering.

I saw the stadium as I cleared 41km. But by the time I started semi sprinting, I was already in the stadium. It was a mad dash on the final 400m track to finish. And it suddenly felt like forever as I peeped at my watch …2:53 and ticking. Oh no!

Well, I could not hold on to my set out pace of 4min after 33km. It would have meant a finish within 2:50++. But this was nevertheless a thoroughly fought battle. The concluding elation was enough justification for flying all the way here. I accomplished what I set out to do: Be my best version. I did just that.

The finish net time was 2:53:20. Sliced some 30+sec off my HK time. A bit disappointed to be very frank. But hey, like they say…it’s still a PB. So, I will take that any day and be grateful for the chance of fighting hard for it.

Post Race Analysis:

Truth is, the gap between HK and Seoul being just a month apart – is just too unrealistic to expect a larger margin of improvement.

Even taking into account the terrain issue of HK and “flat” course of Seoul, the logical expectation is to assume that Seoul would naturally be an advantage. However, it all depends on how one runs a race. The strategy is key. Flat does not guarantee good results because essentially you are employing the same group of muscles whereas, in HK, the undulation may inadvertently force one to alternate the muscle use.

With 80/20, and high mileage, you would expect the beneficial effect to show perhaps months into the training…not 1 month. That would be expecting a chicken to lay an egg every hour. It’s a slow process, albeit an effective one at that. Therefore, I would still maintain my 80/20 & high mileage build up for coming races.

Post HK, I had contemplated incorporating large volumes of tempo as training towards Seoul. Seemed like a good idea then. But I am glad I did not go through with that. It would have been disastrous as I risked incurring injuries and even if I didn’t, I would have overtrained and sabotaged myself in the process. Somethings just can’t be rushed.

What about my pacing in the race? Did I actually go out too fast? Perhaps. But now that I have analyzed my splits and paces, I think I would not have done it any other way. If I had bonked, it would mean I definitely went out too fast. But I have a feeling that I was at the right pace. Remember what I asked myself before the start? WHAT IS MY BEST EFFORT? I think 4 min pace WAS my best effort. That said, with the fluctuating pace beyond 35km, all I can say is that my sustainability in pace was really tested then. That meant that with proper 80/20 & high mileage…I should be able to manage the remaining 7km well enough: at a 4min pace. I am currently just not there yet. Bonking, on the other hand, means my pace would have dropped drastically. There would have been nothing to redeem as there would be nothing left in the tank. And clearly, this was NOT the case for me.

So with that cleared, I am glad to say that for all who aspire to sub3 or are aiming for better sub3, I encourage you to keep an open mind. I was once very skeptical about this 80/20 business. And I used to subscribe to training less and running fast…but I am glad to say that I have repented from it, literally.

So, don’t worry about the training pace. We all have a tendency to go too fast. But do allocate some time for tempo and intervals as the race approaches. 2 months into it preferably. But do work on building that essential base as you give yourself a solid 4-6 months of 80/20 & high mileage. You will see and feel the difference. Especially when it really matters at 30km and beyond.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to be your coach. Not at all qualified. But rather, based on my many failures at many other methods, I indeed have some experience in telling you what does not work in the long run. Please just take this as a sharing of “new” ideas. Nevertheless, don’t just take my word for it. You can look around and see some who have attested to this in the FB and how they have benefited from it.

And for those who already know the benefit, pass it on.

Happy training!