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Anybody for an Ultra-Marathon?
By K.P. Tan Last Sunday I ran for two hours and thirty minutes. It is well known that for health purposes one only needs to run between 30 to 60 minutes and about four times a week. I was indeed training for my marathon and ultra-marathon race held every year in the month of December. The Singapore Marathon is slated on the first Sunday with the MR25 Ultra Marathon following three weeks later. My objective every week is to increase my Sunday run by ten percent in duration. I am not sure how far I can run comfortably without incurring any injury. My completion time for the marathon is between 3-1/2 hours to slightly more than four hours. In order to complete the marathon within that time range I need to run between 80km to 100 km per week for eight weeks before the marathon. I have no difficulty in completing a marathon. However, I have problems when it comes to running the ultra-marathon. Last year I tried my first MR25 ultra-marathon. The race was held at the McRitchie Reservoir, where most of us have raced when we were still in school. I ran the race in the same manner as I run marathons. Every lap around the reservoir was 10.5 km. Unlike the road surface, the jungle track was not always friendly. There were stretches of rocky surfaces where the feet hurt on landing, slippery slopes where it was difficult to stay steady, and muddy surfaces that sapped all your strength. I managed the first four laps in about 4-1/2 hours but my total time for five laps was 6:18:08. I decided to call it quits after I completed the fifth lap, as I knew at that point my preparation for the race was not sufficient. It was only good enough to get a certificate of participation for the ultra marathon. It was better to live to fight on another day. | |
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