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From: David
Category: Diary
Date: 3/2/99
Time: 3:52:11 AM
Remote Name: 208.167.253.48
I finished the HK Internation Marathon 28th, Feb, 1999. Here is my first hand report.
The race course -- most of it is flyover and tunnels, quite a lot of ups and downs according to the women's winner, no concrete, almost 100% asphault.
The weather -- less than 20 degree C most of the time, but it starts to heat up after 10am (race starts at 7:45am), no strong wind.
The people -- 1,700s people from nearly 30 country taking part.
The winner -- a Kenyan wins the men's in 2:17:00 while a Chinese wins the women's in 2:36 something.(I don't know their English names)
The night before -- I ate salad containing 2 potato, on bed at 11:30, fell asleep after 1:00am, get up at 5:30am, had 700cc of conge and 600ml of isotonic drinks, then rush to the race.
Just before the race -- I piss of twice and get rid of some soil, feeling nice, my wound in my left leg didn't hurt, I do 10 mins of stretching, then, Band! it goes ......
The race -- I started slowly, partly because of the congestion, partly because of the congee that remains in my stomach. Psychologically I was still accommodating this brand new experience, physical I was checking my body condition. After the crowd dispersed, I run with a natural pace I developed in training, taking note of the time about once per 8km. I knew I was behind my target 3hr19mins but I was not sure about my body condition, so I didn't try harder in the first half.
I'd think of locating a partner with similar target and pace and couldn't find one. I try not to follow other's pace because they tend to fluctuate. After 20km, I had better idea of how much strength remained, so I start to picking up speed a little bit. Before the 30km mark, I'd gone to toilet 5 or 6 times, but I keep drinking isotonic drinks in every stop. The toileting cost me a few minutes but it's better over-hydrated than dehydrated, especially when the sun was getting hotter.
I took over people mostly in the first 16km and the last 10km. It is obvious that people (I believe many of them are experienced runners) got slower and slower after 32km. In the final 4km, I start to sprint and make sure I done my best, it is really troublesome to think that you can do better after you cross the line.
I managed to finish in 3hr33mins (ranked 218th), 3minutes more than my previous practising attempt. Considering the temperature was higher and the race course is tougher than the level practice track, I believe I did great. I believe the contributing factor is sufficient water and ion supply, and the carbo-loading protocol.
Right now I'm still recovering from slight shin injury. My running shoes (Reebok 3-D) is light but the cushion is not enough for the downhill. I'm seriously considering whether I should treat marathon sport as a long term goal to pursuit. The training is just too time consuming and unpresent.
Anyway, I have to thank for Paul's coach all the way to the race. Thank you Paul.
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