MY RUNS AND MY WAY

On the weekend of  12-13 March 2016, I tried something new to test my performance and endurance in running.I participated in a back to back running events. I have planned  it since January 2016 and I  guess I  suprised myself with what I have accomplished that weekend.

Figures below summarize what I have achieved.
 

I planned to use this event as a warming up event to keep my fitness for the Bukit Jalil Half Marathon on the following day

I guess I have successfully passed my personal test where I have managed to finish both events with zero pain at my body and the best part is I replicated my performance for 7km run into the 13.5km run.

Below are also more bonus news in my running journey where I was ranked top 20 in my age category and top 50 in the overall categories for the same distance for Bukit Jalil Half Marathon 2016.What a weekend!



From 116 runners



From 340 runners

From 663 runners

What I accomplished during  my back to back challenge weekend has  triggered me to write this post. I just would like to share my experience in the build up to it and to answers some questions asked by my running friends personally and through the social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp on how I was able to do that.

I am not a sports type of person.My ankle was broken when I was 13 years old while I was running for the cross country run where all students in the school were mandatory to participate.After that incident I was not allowed by the doctor to participate in any sports activity that I need to use my leg which lasted until I was in form 5 at 17 years old.

Today I am running for my health as I have shared in my previous post.However,something that I have suprised myself is about the progress that I have made and my personal achievements so far in my runs.

I am among the eldest within my new friends when I starting joining running community last year in 2015.They  are my newly found running friends.At my early 40s now which is 42 years old this year, they keep telling me that my runs have been fairly fast although I do not share the same feeling.

This may be due to my main goals in running are just TO STAY HEALTHY AND IMPROVE MY FITNESS where what they called it as PACE in running terminology is not really something I am thinking too much.When I started running,my aims were just to keep running as far as I can every time I run.Speed or time were totally not in my list of concerns.

However,I became more curious to explore more about my abilities in running after I have managed to bring my weight to 75kg in October 2015. It was because I felt my body is lighter and I have been very comfortable with my running.

That was especially when I started to wear a full set of proper attire and gears for running.In the same time I have gained more confidence and motivation to keep running.

How fast is considered fast?

I started to monitor my running performance using the Nike Running apps at my smartphone in 8 October 2015.

It indicates the total distance and time,pace in mins/km and quantity of calories burnt for every run or workout.Then I understood that pace is the common terminology used by runners to indicate how fast is our run.

With the timing chip provided for runners when I participated in my first running event in August 2015,the first official recorded time for my run was 1 hour 23 minutes for a 10km distance which gave me about 8 minutes something per km as my pace.

From that first participation,I have continued running and I participated in 3 more running events by the end of the same year. The progress of my pace has been improved from month to month until now.It has been getting lower and it means I am getting faster in my runs too as indicated below.

2015

Oct : 7' 10"/ km.

Nov: 7' 09"/km.

Dec: 6' 50"/km.

2016

Jan : 6' 11"/km.

Feb: 6' 03"/km.

As at 14 Mar: 5'50"/km.

In October 2015,my typical running distance ranged from 2km to 5km for every run and that been gradually  increased to 3km to 11km by December 2015 with more runs in each month too. By Mar 2016, my regular distance has been increased to 5km to 14km for my running sessions.

Below is the summary of my total achievement recorded as of 14 March 2016.

For a comparison my early total time for 5km run was about 40-45 minutes and 10km for about 1 hour 45-50 minutes.

When looking back at this  improvement in pace and after I started to share some of my personal running statistics and numbers with my running and non running friends,I am often asked the following questions:-

What I did to achieve it?

How do I train or what is my training plan?

What is my target?

What is the secrets to become that fast within few months?

What is my diet and what I often eat?

What type of supplements that I take to improve my running performance?

To be honest,sometime I am unsure whether or not to answer all that questions because I do not have definite answers.
My main concern is,am I qualified to answer when I personally started running is less than one year ago.

My running friends keep saying to me that I run fairly fast at my age compare to some of them who have been running for longer period than myself. However, I do admit that after I become more comfortable and enjoy my runs, I did seek more information about running from online resources.That is how I started to try to apply some guides and tips in running to gain maximum benefits from it beyond just for health and fitness.

This was the reason why I started to explore about improving my running performance by slowly getting myself to understand some basics in running.

After the word pace, more terminologies in running and physical exercises related to it started to become familiar and interesting to me such as...

STRIDE

FARTLEK

CADENCE

SPEED TRAINING

CARBO LOADING

CORE WORKOUTS

ABS WORKOUTS

PLANK and many more.

In the same time I started to monitor closely my pace for every km whenever I run via the running aps and my weight every time after I finished my running and workout sessions.

Being an engineer by qualification,I just cannot stop myself from assessing my performance by looking at numbers that I am monitoring.Then starting to think on how I can apply some background and knowledge in Science from my readings into my running.

By the end of December 2015,I have already achieved my range of ideal weight at about 70kg with my BMI at an ideal range value as well. That was the moment I have achieved my initial goal in running and in the same time my body has become much healthier and improved tremendously in my fitness.

This was also the moment when I started to look into the running techniques that will help me to become more efficient in running.It means to achieve better performance without adding more energy into my body.

So, again coming back to the questions above and it I can summarize it,all that is all about how I improved my running performance and how did I do it.

It has been a process.A very long process to me where it involved changes in my lifestyle as a whole. Below is the sequence of the process that I have gone through and still in it until today.

1. Confirm the motivation and goals
2. Define and agree on commitment
3. Make a plan, create the time and preparation
4. Execute the plan and start to understand the body
5. Overcome challenges and setbacks
6. Record,enjoy,appreciate and reward achievements
7. Find running friends and interact in running circles
8. Add variations to maintain and improve performance
   
   
   

   

1.Confirm the motivation and goals

My early motivation was to avoid taking high BP medication for life due to my high BP recorded early of the year.

My goals were to be healthier and improve my fitness level which have been on downward trends resulted from my unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical exercises in recent years.

I have achieved my initial objectives and goals from running which is to reach my ideal weight. I have reached the weight that I had for almost 20 years ago and therefore  I must find new motivation and review my objectives and goals for me to continue running.

2.Define and agree on commitment

I defined the commitment personally where running for my health would be my own responsibility 100% and no one can stop me from doing it whenever I want and wherever I want it. I promised to myself that I will change my eating habit as well together with my new fitness regime as  my new lifestyle.
Running will be a big part in my new lifestyle!

Then, I  have to decide what type of runner I would like to be.

• A competitive runner? or
• Running for leisure? or
• Running for health? or
• Running for lifestyle change in health and fitness?
• Running to socialize?

The type of runner that you want to be will determine what type of plan you will have to make in your running activities and its preparation.
I have chosen running for lifestyle change in health and fitness and therefore all  what I have done so far are all about to meet the characteristics for that.

3.Make a plan, create the time and preparation

Weekly running time and basic schedule
The hardest part.Often heard in my mind and from others about where can I find the time.It looks impossible when my normal day to day life has been very occupied with so much about family and works.

If we are really serious and committed to our goals, we must create the time to run and in the same time we must be prepared to live outside our comfort zone by willing to try something that we have never thought we would.I have explained in detailed about how I created my time to ensure I can run according to my plan in one of my previous post in this blog.

I do not have a specific training plan because the word training itself sound too formal too me.


However, I do read regularly some materials posted to me via email on many tips in running from online sources that I subscribed such as running.competitor.com.Finally I came up with my own training routines that I have planned to execute.

After trying few weekly routine since I started last year,  below are my regular activities since then that have been comfortable with.

After assessing my overall performance in 2015, I have  a weekly target to run at least 20km and 500km target for the year of 2016.

• 3-4 times/week running routines.
• 3-4 times/week 15-30 minutes of core and abs workouts including knee and hip strength workouts with dead lift.
• Home or gym workouts on days that I do not run
• Speed training integrated  during my routine runs since mid of January 2016.
•  Uphill and downhill training since February 2016.
• Basic protein diet with more controlled carbo. intakes since December 2015.
• Proper physical workouts and diet plans within 1-2 weeks  before every running event.

Running routes

I started to run at a designated place to run and to perform other physical activities which is Dataran Nilai and it has a bout 800 metres jogging/walking track in square shape. Then, after I did a survey at my housing area, I created another route at 5km distance per one circle which I feel comfortable to run which has very less traffic at times I planned to run early in the morning of night.

The selection of running shoes and socks
Select the shoes that will suit our leg and running style. This information on shoes selection are plenty at online and also available at shoes stores with well known brands.
I learned about the need to have an appropriate shoes in the hard way because initially I thought all sports shoes  or sneakers are suitable for running. It does not have to be from the very well known brands or very expensive too.My investment for a proper running shoes made in the end of July 2015 and still lasting until today where I have run more than 500km using the same pair of shoes.At what price? RM269 after the discount.
Running attire 
I did receive some advice from few new running friends whom I met before the flag off that I should have worn a running tight or short to feel more comfortable when running.However that time, I was  not really understood what they really meant because I could not really connect it with my running ability or performance until I finished the run.
Yes I finished my 10km run and that was my longest single run.I felt that I was not only carrying my weight to finish the run especially at the last 3-4km of the route but also the discomfort with sweat that accumulated at my underwear, the bottom part of my running pant and my socks.It was torturing to me for the extra weight that my own sweat has created with all my energy has already almost drained out towards the finish line.
The following photos may give you better idea and more visuals on how I was struggling to finish my run at my first ever running event especially with some of what I wore were not giving me the comfort to run.It was in August 2015.

This is very important because the inappropriate shoes will cause discomfort for beginners which may kill the mood to run further especially when it started to feel some pains at the early stage of running.

The shoes must be selected with comfort as the most important criteria and not based on latest fashion or colors.


What we wear will affect how we run.Now I do understand why people spend so much in getting the right attire to run.What were my thoughts before unless you are truly in sports for career, spending on the attire for sports is just for fashion or just showing off.
Again I was wrong.I just wore a normal long pant for running, normal pair of socks and even a regular men's underwear when I ran in my first running event.It simply because I have been running  with same type of attire in my few months of running before with no problems at all.

My first ever run at an event.

So, learning from the painful running experiences, I did go out and buy some proper attire for my next running event after that.I bought a long tight  pant for running with a short and  a pair of proper running socks.For my regular running runs, I also bought a few short tights to be worn with my normal long running pants.

I started to wear much more suitable and comfortable running attire in my 2nd running event in September 2015.

Yes, now I must admit or confess that I can run more comfortably with those new and proper attire which has contributed to the improvement to my overall running performance.Other than that, it also  give me more confidence to run.

Other running gears

Running performance monitoring gears
I am still using my smartphone with GPS to track my running routes and other parameters in Nike Running apps which I wear at my waist. Many recommended to me to use the one can be worn at my wrist like a watch but I do not feel that really need one yet.
 

Safety features and practices

It is very important especially when we are running at the public areas and roads.

•  Run against the traffic for us to be able to see the incoming vehicle towards us
• Wear something reflective at your shoes,pants, shirt,arms,cap or even a headlamps if you are running at night or early morning
•  Wear bright colour shirts for better visibility by drivers or riders

4.Execute the plan and start to understand the body

May-June 2015 was the period I started running.

I had no distance targets and I was just running until my body say stop.I have managed to run at 3-5km distance before the fasting month started in early July. Immediately after the Hari Raya holiday, I restarted my running routines again. Then I continued running according to my initial plan which is at least 3-4 times a week.  I often run more km on weekends in the early morning at different routes.


I believe I started to really enjoy my running since October 2015 after I have managed to overcome all pains and discomforts whenever I take the road to run.I felt lighter although I still had some difficulties to control my breathing when started to run more than 5km at one try.


For the back to back personal challenge on 12-13 March 2016,I strongly feel my uphill and downhill runs training really helped my to manage my runs at the hilly surfaces at Bukit Tunku and Bukit Jalil race routes.

From what I have experienced,the most critical matter when executing my plan is to observe and respond to our body whenever it shows signs in the form of pains to some muscles,joints,discomforts in some movements,our eating appetite and etc before,during and after every run.

The process for me to make my runs to be easier and comfortable has enabled to understand more about body too.By monitoring my weight regularly I have been to control what I need to eat for that day.From pains that I felt after some of my runs or other workouts, I have managed to confirm types of running technique and workouts that will help me to avoid that to happen again.

Another important thing to be closely monitored and acted upon is about what is the best way we can run.Initially I thought running is just a movement which is faster than walking which is also needs more energy to run faster.However when I spent more time in thinking based on my online readings,there is so much science in it which have been proven by researches for years or known Sports Science.We can run faster with little amount of energy that I have assumed.

From  the online sources, I found many ways to respond to changes at our body when I started running.All that pointed to the main goal which is to make myself to feel more comfortable with my runs for me to start to enjoy it instead of torturing my body and mind with all kind of pains at my  muscles and joints.


Learning running techniques along the way

It is all about getting myself to feel more comfortable when running.That was my first and the most important goal when I started running.Running fast was totally none of my concerns because I am not running to compete or to be compared with anyone other than against myself and my weight.

What I have read and learned from months of running is we must enjoy our runs.One way to do it is by being an efficient runner.


Adopting some proper running techniques that by many experts definitely helped me to make running much easier and less stressful.When I started to apply some techniques , it did help me in the followings:

• Reduce some regular pain to my muscles after my running sessions;
• Cover much longer distance without the feeling to add more energy;
• Improve my pace from time to time without adding too much more efforts to increase the  speed in my runs.I became faster and faster based on my pace and the total time recorded from each run gradually reduced and without feeling more stress to increase my speed while I am running.I would say at some points, I was not even realized it that I have been running that fast.

Now, I have established my  comfort pace with the technique that I am comfortable with. After that I can run in pace 6 easily for about 10-15km distance and it can go below that pace along the way as well.Now, the average for me for 5-10km distance has gone down to below 6 constantly and the best part is, I can do it in a very relax and easy run.


I do not have any specific target on how low I can go in term of timing or pace in my runs but in the same time I am also curious to know how far the distance I can run and at what pace I can achieve with myself is not getting younger.

As for now, I am quite happy and satisfied with my pace and if  I can achieve anything better that that, it would be a bonus for me to feel good about my own performance for my fitness and health.'

Below are some of the basics in running that have useful for me as guides to improve my running techniques.

Going back to the basics of running!


All human are designed to run.Do not take too  much time or putting too much questions in our mind whether we can run or not.The only decision that we need to make is when are we going to start running.

After all,these are elements of science that have been proven by researches for years.They are worth it to try but in the same time please do not make our run to be to scientific because I do feel we may start to lose the fun of running when too much science is involved.

5.Overcome challenges and setbacks

Body pains are typical for beginners and that is what I knew in advance. My body needs time to be familiar with new physical routines and also eating habit. To stop because of those early pains will indicate how weak I am.It took me about 2 months to experience each pain at every part of my body such as ankle and knee and finding the best way to ease it and finally to wait until it becoming lesser and lesser or until I can ignore it.I took it as just some setbacks that I must overcome.


Another biggest challenge is to overcome the mental and emotional fear of responses that I may receive from my social circles and day to day environment which involving family members, relative and personal and working friends.
There will be some negativity in comments and perception from our own personal and social circles. What has shielded me from all that from the start until today is IF I DON'T DO THIS FOR MYSELF, NO ONE WILL!There was  the time I have to use Rest,Ice,Compress and Elevation(RICE) method after my second running event to ease the muscle pain at my knees and surrounding it  twice a day for almost three weeks.I had to call and consulted some of friends and doctors to seek some advice whenever I endured some pains after my running session for several months. I still can remember when  I had to wear the knee support with my pant to enable me to walk to my, driving and go to work.There was also the time where I felt I will stop stop running when muscles at my calf and thigh were so painful that even  made so difficult for me to going up and down the staircase of my house.It as a very painful journey to my body but I just moved forward since from the knowledge that I gained from my readings, all that were just the process of my body is building itself to become a running body.

6. Record activities,enjoy,appreciate and reward achievements

Do not keep it in your mind because one day it may or will disappear. Make our running activities visible and then  we can see and assess our own progress.There is nothing to shy about because it is all about us who want to see how much progress that we have made. Seeing it will believe it!

Therefore, I do keep a lot of photos in each progress that I have made in my activities and physical changes.The use of social media  to share my journey in running has been very influential for me to monitor my progress and to keep myself motivated when I received so much supports from people in my social circles.

Here I would to share some and how I documented my running activities when I ran alone, at events and with my running friends.I also love to put my thoughts to to be reflected in some photos which often  as self reminders but I am happy to share it with others.

Sometime I documented some of  my activities in the form of short videos and then I shared at my Facebook page.


How I reward myself for what I have achieved?
I think the biggest rewards for me is the improved health and newly found fitness level.My day to day life that involved a lot of movements have been more enjoyable than ever.

Many of my relatives and friends have been shocked to see my transformation since the end of last year.

In the same time, I started to equip myself with more suitable attire to accommodate my running activities.I must reward myself with new clothes too because my the size for my pant  has reduced from 36 to 32 something inches and my t-shirt size has gone down form L to M with  all my old pants and shirts for works and casual activities never look like mine already.

What a reward and change that I have made from running! I feel so good and no words can truly  describe it! It's just priceless and unbelievable!

7. Find running friends and interact in running circles

Find and mix with runners. Be a friend to them.Only fellow runners who can understand runners and will support runners in the way it should be.

I have made many new and positive friends since I started in running events last year. At events we will say  hello and having nice conversations with each other and through connections in the social media, we always share many tips and words that often positive  to motivate fellow runners.

Running has connected us from various age,race,working background,pace and many more and  there will be so much more fun and interesting activities  we have and can do together within running community.

Once you are are on why and what kind of runner is you are, you will always find friends that are similar to you among them and support each other along the way.
Sometime, you will be amazed with the supports and tips that they will share with you just through the social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp.

In short, you will never be alone and you will never be left alone once you started to become a member of the running fraternity.

8. Add variations to maintain and improve performance

Running could become boring like any other sports activity over a period of time.However it is up to us  to change that.

Adding varieties to our running routines could be in many forms.It could be from the attire that you may use to the distance that you may want to run.

Different running routes

For me, I have routes that I have created on my own where I can run comfortably alone or with friends. These routes are nearby my house area. In the same time I did try routes that are being used or recommended by running groups such as at Putrajaya, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Padang Merbok and etc areas. When I go for out station works, I will find any area that would be suitable for me to run in the early morning too and for example I know where to run if I will be in Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Banda Hilir and Ayer Keroh Melaka.

Additional sets of training and workouts within and after every running session

•  Uphill and downhill runs 

I found this activity has been very useful to improve my running performance.With my knee and hip started to feel stronger and more firm while running, I learned from the internet how hill training will improve my pace especially in running event where some areas are hilly in the route.

Then I find the route nearby my house and office when I can try the techniques to run at uphill and downhill surfaces.They called it uphill speed training where I will run for 100-200m uphill in at the fastest mode possible and then have a slower run to recover downhill.Then I repeat the same cycle up to five times for each session.

Then I will have a slow run for about 1km and I repeat the same cycle.The routine that I do is not exactly as outlined in the tips I read  from the internet but I think I have applied the same principles which I believe will give the results that I wanted.

I tried this routines once a week for about one month before my  back to back challenge weekend this month and yes, I did improve my running performance.

The uphill and downhill training helped me a lot in managing my runs at the hilly Bukit Tunku and Bukit Jalil areas for my running events.

The most significant impact was I felt that I can run at the hilly areas with  no breathing stress or difficulties at all and a I was able to put up some speed while many other runners did not.
In summary, I was able to run with controlled pace at hilly surfaces with the way I run at the normal flat surfaces.

Abs and core body workouts at home

I started to realize that I need to do something with my body after I have lost my weight to  about 75kg.My skins at some parts of my body such as chest, arm, thigh and tummy started to sag.It is due to the loss of most of fat under my skin from my months of running and a little controls in my eating habit.

Readings from many online articles also tell me the need to have other physical workouts if I want to improve my running performance too.I received similar advice when I share that with my fellow running friends and friends who have been active in others sports and gym activities.

In the same time, I have advised that I need to build some muscle and then to shape it a little bit for me not to look skinny after I have lost my weight and most of my fat.
My further search online brought to some basic workouts which I have options if I really want to do it.

Going to the gym or just start to do it at home?
I tried to do to the gym for few times but later I found out that I am not a gym type of person.I don't feel I enjoy my workouts at the gym which I feel the environment I  little bit intense and I have less freedom to continue my workout especially when the crowd is  a lot.

However, I have managed to learn some tips and techniques for proper workouts that can suit my body from trainers whom I met at the gym.
Then I decided to focus on my workouts at home and I will only go to the gym once in while or whenever I need to change some air or variation in my routine.

My workout routines

On the day I do not run
I will spend between 30-40 minutes for my workouts in the morning or night.

1. Warming ups

• 5 minutes

2. For fat burning to replace running

• 5 minutes
• Jumping jack
• Mountain climbing

3. Dead lift for knee, hips and upper body muscles building/shaping

• 10 minutes

4. For core strength  and abs fat burning

• 10-15 minutes

Heel touches
Crunches
Jack-knife sit ups
Sit ups
Flutter kicks
Leg raises
5. For core strength

• 5 minutes

Push ups
Planks

On my regular running days: Morning or Night

I am rarely running in the evening unless I could not make it in the morning or night and I am already below my weekly km running target.

Working days
3-5km run for about  30 minutes and 10-15 minutes warming ups and abs,core and plank workouts

Weekends
5-10km runs for about 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes and 10-15 minutes warming ups and abs,core and plank workouts.

Below are some photos of my home workouts

Dead lift to strengthen my knee and hip and to build upper body muscle.

How did my workouts improve my running performance?
I can feel it because the effects has been felt obviously.
Core and abs workouts have help me to feel more comfortable with my stomach when I am running.It eliminated all the typical pain on my left or right stomach I often feel  within every run.I feel much more stable and firm when breathing and can control it better too.At this point, I am still searching my way of running that I can feel comfortable with. When I feel my core is stronger, I can start to have the comfortable posture of my body when I run.

Improvement in speed
Initially, I thought the can only  improve my running speed from faster runs where I need to focus  my energy just to get more steps with shorter time.I was wrong and all this while, I have been trying to use all my energy to make my whole body to move faster but that can only last for a very short distance.

My conclusion after I run for quite sometime and then when I can feel I have stronger knee and core, I just need to work on my stride.In the same time I must breath comfortably.When I need to do is just to increase the angle of my stride and to do that, my knee need to be strong enough for me to do it without using too much additional energy.
The figure below will explain further a little bit.The bigger the stride angle, the longer the distance will be cover for every step of our run.

My constant dead lift workout really helped me to be able to improve my stride in my runs that resulted in my improved pace.I can feel that my hip and my knees are more strong and stable when I move in my runs.This has made me run faster without adding to much energy as how it use to  be.

My typical preparation before for a running event

Normally it will start exactly one week before for my running  fitness, body strength  and diet.
Below are the list of items that  I do to prepare myself for a running event
Day 1-3:

• Regular runs and workouts.
• Normal healthy diet with more protein

Day 4-5:

• Regular runs with less intensity and workouts

• 2 cups  of rice per meal set for lunch and dinner with additional meals with more carbo such as pasta

Day 6:

• No runs or workouts
• 8-10 bananas
• Plenty of plain water
• 2 cups  of rice per meal set for lunch and dinner with additional meals with more  carbo such as pasta
• My last meal is by 9.00 p.m
• To sleep by 10.00p.m-11.00p.m 

Day 7(The running day)

• 2-3  bananas 2 hours before the flag off
• 1 energy bar 30 minutes before the flag off
• Half bottle of Gatorade and 1 small bottle of mineral water 1-2 hours before the flag off.
• Mattock dynamic warming up workouts

Recovery
It will depend on the running distance of the event that I participated and how do I feel about my body after that.
For 5km, I will continue my normal routine in the next day or even after the run itself.This may be because the distance is already matched my body's ability to take it as just a normal physical activity.
For 10km, I will have a complete rest after the event until night.If I still can feel tired or fatigue, I have another one day rest without any run or workouts.

Challenging myself to go to the next level of running

This mainly due do my constant updates in the running group that we have in the social media applications and we met during our running activities. Most of them are very positive and supportive that I would be able to run at least a HM race comfortably based on my current performances in 5km and 10km runs.

I have been often asked by my running friends on when I am going to run my Half Marathon(HM) race or even a Full Marathon(FM) race.

I am not the type of person that easily to get intimidated by others especially when I have already planned my running targets for 2016.I am the type who love to experience the process of my own development and running and will take it  one step at each time.I have the plan and I prefer to stick to the plan.


I do not run to win races or to compete with others.To me, results that I have achieved that sometime exceeded my own expectations are just bonuses for me to feel better about my performance.


My plan for 2016 is just to enjoy fully my 10km runs or slightly longer distance and to try at least one HM run and one trail run by the end of the year.


The plan run for my first HM is if I can register for the upcoming Standard Chartered KL Marathon in August 2016.In fact I have already set a training program in my Nike Running apps to prepare for than event .
My first HM try

It also make me feel good about my health and fitness level and to keep me motivated to carry on with this healthy lifestyle.

The feel good factor after my strong finish for Bukit Jalil Half Marathon has given me extra boost and confidence.It has elevated my motivation to try to go to the next level of distance.After a full one day break from the BJHM 2016, I decided to give a shot on a HM distance on the night of 15 March 2016.

My strategy was to run at a pace 6 and just to finish the distance.Timing was not really my main concern to me when I started because I just wanted to know do I have enough strength and fitness to complete a HM distance.

The results truly shocked me personally.In short, I have managed to replicate almost all my performance in 5km and 10km runs in the half marathon distance although this is not an official running event.

When I wrote this post, I have already felt that I am ready to run a HM run and I believe I can finish it strongly too.It look like to happen faster that I have planned for 2016. 
The only question that hammering my mind now is can I replicate this first time HM distance into the actual running events.

MY CONCLUSIONS

You  must have  clear objectives and goals in running.That will determine how running will change your life  to be better and to stay motivated to run.

Make the time if you really want to running to improve yourself in health, fitness and life because you will never find the time even though you may keep trying. 

Understand our body and suit our plan to improve by responding to our body accordingly to ensure we do not overdo it or in the way it may harm our body and health.

Enjoy the running the way you want it and the way that will make you feel better about yourself.Do not get intimidated or distracted with responses of others or even among fellow runners.

THANKS FOR READING AND ENJOY YOUR RUNNING!

Disclaimer:

I am not a professional runner or a certified physical trainer and therefore I used my personal understanding to explain  some running and workouts terminologies based on my own experiences in applying them. Please refer the professional/recognized sources for more accurate definitions and explanation.

Tips and information shared here are also based on my personal experiences and therefore health and safety risks involved while applying any of them are at your own responsibilities.