Facebook Photos #9 by Sunbird Jacqueline
It was planned as the longest run in the 12-week marathon program, before tapering comes in ahead of race day. A large group of Full-Marathon Sunbirds and Pacers started earlier at 6am in a bid to complete the targeted distance of 36km before the sun comes up. The main group assembled at The Nest by 7am for the morning's briefing before setting out for the longest run in the Sunbird Program.
A number of Sunbirds were donning the training tops which they worked hard to 'qualify' for. Because the main group was smaller, we were flagged off as a group and immediately got down to testing out the FatBird Optimal Pace Strategy. The sky was cloudy, but the air was still and very humid. As usual it felt comfortable maintaining the pace for the first 10km. After a number of pace training sessions, the groups were able to fall into place easily, with the trainees running alongside Pacers & Running Guides in tandem.
The bigger groups are in the 2:30h Half-Marathon and 4:30h-5:30h Full-Marathon distances, with the 2:15h Half-Marathon and Happy Group (6:00h) making up the second largest group. The long stretch at the Coastal Road provided the 'mental challenge' of the day. At the U-turn shelter, many of the runners were already feeling the effects of the heat and humidity. Coupled with the long stretch of road and the rising heat from the sun, the target paces were taking a hit on the return. Recovery from last week's 33km were not really complete, and that added on to fatigue for many of us. It was a good challenge from then on to complete the longest run in trying conditions.
Visits to the toilets along ECP were the order of the final 10km, as the runners were dousing their heads with water in bids to cool down the over-heating engines. Walk breaks were thrown in to help bring down rising temperatures, which led to paces dipping by 15sec-30sec/km. The good base of the runners allowed them to continue moving on, albeit slower; such were the strong mental attitudes of the Sunbirds to want to complete the mission, regardless of the hardships being faced in the final kilometers. This will go towards building up the resilience and strength required for completing a marathon, even in difficult conditions.
The peak challenge of the day was having to go another 3km (after 33km) at The PlayGround support point. After taking iced-cold Gatorade and 100-Plus, with fruits and cakes to boot, it made for very strong resolve to want to finish the final bit. Many of the Sunbirds did complete 36km, with the bulk of the Full-Marathoners completing 32-33km. This must have ranked as one of the toughest run experienced for the Sunbirds to date, and congratulations go out to all who completed 18-21km (Half-Marathon) and 30-36km (Full Marathon).
With the longest run accomplished, we can officially declare Tapering to begin, surely good news to all of us who have put in so many long runs for the past 10 weeks. It will be a time of recuperating from all the stress and tiredness, including injuries sustained from the high mileage during training. All Sunbirds are encouraged to R.I.C.E. and go easy on the bodies from now, and to avoid doing too much ahead of race day. Preparations and stocking-up on race day essentials should begin to sufficiently prepare ourselves. Full-dress rehearsals will be conducted the final 2 training sessions to rehearse and iron out final kinks, and putting race day armor to final tests. The most important now will be to review the past training sessions and build up a good mental state for race day. SUNBIRDS ARE READY!
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