Which serious runner or athlete hasn’t first faced anticipation
and excitement but have those feelings quickly dissipate and morph into doubt
and disappointment instead when circumstances beyond his or her control
interferes with their original plans and goals?
This was exactly where I found myself at. If you have the
time to read this, please indulge me a little as I explain.
A word of warning : You
will realize while reading this write up that every race has a different angle
to it and the Gold Coast Airport Marathon is no different. You may or may not
agree with what I have written here but I would like to maintain that the
opinions expressed here are solely my own and the events leading up to it and
the events after are purely drawn from my own experience.
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| Photo of me against the sunrise after a morning run at Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast. This photo was taken by a videographer I bumped into during my morning run. |
The “Before”
I signed up for the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2015 (GCAM
2015) back in December 2014 fully hoping to race in the Full Marathon category,
a distance dear to my heart. After all, outdoor distance running was exactly
why I fell in love with the sport in the first place. I loved that exhilarating
feel of moving along the road, enjoying the scenery and counting down the miles
passing by as I raced towards my destination.
With a whopping 8 months to prepare after my last Full
Marathon race at the Macau International Marathon 2014, I thought this was
doable even though there was still some nagging pain at the fat pad of my right
foot. This was an injury which kept returning to haunt me despite sustaining it
months ago in June 2014 after a trail race where I executed a jump from a 3-4
feet drop and landed unevenly on a stone.
I planned to make this full marathon race at GCAM 2015 my
last competitive race where I would run for timing and make it my best
performance, perhaps even sub 3 hours 45 min.
Sadly, this was not to be. In the first few weeks after
registering for GCAM 2015, the injury gnawed and gnawed at my foot and started
to get worse despite the fact that I had drastically cut down my mileage.
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| After one of our track workouts with the GCAM MY Team (photo courtesy of Jamie Pang) |
It got to the point where the injury was even affecting my
daily life. I was visibly limping around the office and finding it difficult to
move around. Even my colleagues and close friends noticed.
This was getting really ridiculous and I knew then that it
was simply not worth to carry on with my training if my daily life which
mattered most, was impacted.
I decided to stop running altogether and endured a lay-off
of 10-12 weeks where I filled up my leisure time with cycling and swimming
instead to try and maintain my fitness or at least to prevent it from deteriorating
too much that it would be hard to jump back into training for the race, when
the time came.
Rehabilitation was chaotic. I desperately tried many options
from Chinese Acupuncture to foot soaking with crystals, analgesics, foot
rolling, physiotherapy, cutting out cold food and drinks from my diet and
refraining from taking anything with “cooling properties” into my body.
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| After a Chinese Acupuncture session |
All these helped a little but not by a whole lot and by the
end of February 2015, when I resumed my training inch by inch, the injury was
still there. I gauged that it was around 90% healed but was lingering around at
the background, waiting to resurface should I attempt to stress the foot too
much.
When I started to train seriously again, I found that I
could only maintain a 8:30 min pace and not more than that otherwise I would
get winded and exhausted. My leg muscles were also weaker after the lay-off and
needed to be re-conditioned.
In addition, I found that I could not run beyond 22-23 km
without succumbing to sharp shooting pain in my right heel pad. It got so bad
that I limped after each long run beyond 20km. Then, to make matters worse, in
March 2015, the left Achilles tendon started to incur some sharp pain as well
if I ran pass a certain distance.
I guess on hindsight, I had already known then, what would
be the wisest and best decision to make in my case. Should I change my race
category to a shorter more doable distance or not?
I shared my predicament with my friends from the core GCAM
Malaysia Training Team who encouraged me to continue and not give up my full
marathon race. However, I had a lot of doubts about my condition and consulted
a few more close running friends. One friend in particular who knows me very
well told me point blank that it was too risky to continue with the full
marathon. I simply could not clock sufficient mileage to run the race well and
I did not want to suffer running a 42.2km in pain as well.
His words amplified what I knew deep down inside. For me, I
will never enter a race unless I am 150% prepared and sure I would do well. And
in this particular case, I was only 70% or less prepared. So, I needed to find
a suitable category instead that would allow me to be 150% prepared by the time
it came for the race without worsening my injury. My ultimate goal was and
still is to continue running well and pain-free into my golden years and I did
not want this injury to halt that goal prematurely.
Here, I’d like to thank my friend, Soh Chee Chong, for lending a
listening ear, for your sharp insight, valuable advice and for confirming my
misgivings and doubts that led me to bite the bullet and make the right
decision.
My late mother, in fact, was also a strong advocate of the
belief that if you want to do something, make sure you do your best and as far
as possible, be the best otherwise, don’t even bother trying at all. I guess
some people may try to argue that this is not a healthy way to view things in
life, but it’s the way I have been brought up and her beliefs have been deeply
ingrained in me since young.
The Decision
After many days of reciting the prayer : “ God give me grace
to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference”, I finally made my decision and believe me, it was not
easy and took a lot of courage.
In late April 2015, I swallowed my pride and wrote to the
GCAM race organizers to downgrade my race from a Full Marathon to a Half
Marathon category instead, citing reasons of injury and insufficient time to
train well. They accepted my decision and downgraded my race category.
To me, the word “downgraded” simply means that : A deflating
downshift to something 2nd class and less appealing, not something
one wanted in the first place. If I could describe it, the feeling would be
akin to being given a demotion at work.
I felt somewhat deflated and down but carried on with my
training. Sometimes with the GCAM Malaysia Team but for the most part on my own
as all of them were training for the Full Marathon category and thus, our
training needs were different now.
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| Training with the GCAM MY Team was fun (photo courtesy of Nick Arthur) |
The Preparation
Since it was now obvious that my race would be a Half-Marathon,
I needed to change my training plans quickly to bring myself up to speed to
race this shorter but faster category. What followed was a mixed program of
speedwork, tempo runs, mid-tempo long runs, high-tempo long runs, track intervals,
easy runs and the whole jumble bag.
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| After our race simulation in Putrajaya (photo courtesy of Jamie Pang) |
I also fell in love with cycling at the same time and found
that I could use the cycling workouts to cross-train with running so that I
only ran 3 or 4 times a week instead of everyday in the past. The foot thus,
continued to heal.
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| I love cycling! |
Then, just a month before the race day, something happened
in my personal life that left with a sense of being rejected, abandoned and
unworthy. I was in pain and filled with heartache.
This emotional upheaval leaving me with many sleepless
nights and sad days coupled with the already deflated feeling of being 2nd
grade in the race really played havoc with my life both mentally and
physically. I knew I had to fight hard to overcome it or suffer a nervous
breakdown.
So I poured myself wholeheartedly into my training for the
race. I put so much patience and effort into fine-tuning my performance that it
paid off in terms of the results. From running a 8:30 min pace to running a
4:00 min and sometimes 3:50 min pace felt rewarding and helped put negative
thoughts out of my mind for the time being.
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| Julia is in training for GCAM15 |
After each trial run and race simulation, the results seemed
promising. I seemed to be running faster in training than I had ever done
before prior to the injury, shaving off 15 minutes at least from my best
training time.
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| A jubilant me after a good race simulation at Putrajaya |
The Days before the
Race
Fast-forward to the days leading up to the race day : Yee
Hoo and me flew off a day later than the rest of the other GCAM Malaysia
Training Team members due to work commitments which didn’t allow us to take
leave from work earlier.
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| At KLIA2 awaiting our flight to Gold Coast. |
I also fell sick a few days before departing for the Gold
Coast and had a low-grade fever just a day before departure. Thankfully, the
illness abated but left me a little weak.
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| Enjoying breakfast at Coolangatta Airport, Gold Coast |
Our flight was uneventful and upon depositing our bags at
the apartment in Surfers Paradise, we went directly to the Gold Coast
Convention Centre at Broadbeach to collect our race kits and also to check out
the Race Expo.
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| At the Race Kit Collection and Race Expo |
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| The bag which was provided as part of the race kit for runners |
Race kit collection was a breeze despite the crowd of
people. The queue moved along very quickly and efficiently. The only snag was
that the chip verification system was somehow down at that time and we could
not get the chip on our bibs verified.
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| Ready to run Gold Coast |
Up next, we checked out the Race Expo which was filled with
interesting and good bargains. Thereafter, I took Yee Hoo on a short walk to
Lores Bonney Lookout near Miami Beach which afforded us wonderful coastline
views both north and south of the Gold Coast.
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| View from Lores Bonney Lookout |
We then proceeded to Robina Town Centre for more shopping.
As the rest of the team could not meet us for dinner that first
night so we had dinner by ourselves at a Korean diner.
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| Enjoying the sun, sea, the view of the sand pumping jetty and the fresh breeze at the Spit |
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| The trail walk / cycle at the Spit |
The next day, Yee Hoo and the rest of the team went for the 10km race
but I took off for a short 6km part-hike and part-bike on the Spit, Main Beach.
I managed to hire a mountain bike to ride part way. It was a scenic and
enjoyable hike all the way from Sea World to the Gold Coast Seaway. The Sand Pumping Jetty also added to the scenery.
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| With my rented mountain bike along the Spit. Great ride before the race |
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| Lighthouse at the Gold Coast Seaway |
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| At the Gold Coast Seaway. What a lovely day? |
Race Day
Sunday came at last and I was up by 3am to get ready. A
quick breakfast and some cups of coffee later, I donned my race gear and joined
the others downstairs to walk to the tram station which offered free services
to runners going to the race venue that morning as long as we showed our bibs.
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| My choice of attire for the race |
I had been in a quandary over how to dress for this race. I
was mindful not to overdress but yet must be careful not to dress too skimpily
until I would catch a cold while standing around waiting for the race to start.
I finally settled for normal running vest and shorts but added just arm sleeves and I would wear a disposable raincoat if the wind got too strong or cold (just
like in Macau).
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| With Nick "Meb" before the race. I think this is the only pre-race photo I have with a fellow team member as the rest arrived late. |
At the race venue at Southport, after depositing my bag, we
waited in the cold air, near the stage area for Jamie and the rest of the team
to appear for the Group Photo. However, when no one showed up by 5:40am and the
Half-Marathon race was due to be flagged off at 6am (earlier than the
full-marathon category), I decided not to wait and joined the long queue into
the ‘A’ corral assigned to my bib number.
Waiting at the start with other participants, I didn’t feel
so cold although the air was sharp and chilly. People kept their own space and
did not crowd too close to others at the startline which I found was very
courteous unlike the local races where you would disgustingly get brushed by
the sweat off someone’s arm who stood too close to you at the starting line.
The flag-off for the race was uneventful and without much
fanfare with just one person doing a quiet countdown before the gun went off
and that was it.
I managed to catch a glimpse of Ryan Hall who was the 1:30
pacer before he took off with the Pace Balloon straining at this vest.
Most of the pacers were simply too fast for the actual pace
or for runners to keep up so I decided to run my own pace. I was in awe of
these big Australians (I am considered small over there and one lady actually
called me “tiny”), big in size but strong in speed, could run a 4:00 min pace
and chat at the same time effortlessly.
Even more amazing was how some participants were so
obviously elderly with long overflowing white beards and a whole head of white
hair, who could give you a run for your money with the way they took to the
roads like a bull!
I got chased down by a elderly grandpa as well who
eventually passed me about 1 km towards the finish line. He also was the turning point for me as I decided there and then that I would not retire from competitive racing if he could still do it at that age!
Anyway, I just did my best, enjoyed the feel of running in
the cool air and the bright sunshine and the heady rush of adrenaline that
always comes with any race. I was blessed with no cramps nor discomfort throughout
the race and ran easily and joyfully whilst listening to the other runners
around me counting down the kilometers to the finish line.
Surprisingly, there was not much of a crowd cheering for the
Half-Marathoners throughout the race course. In fact, I can only count a
handful. It was a little disheartening, that it added fuel to my earlier
impression that Half-Marathon was a 2nd class race compared to it’s
more glamorous big brother – the Full Marathon.
At the 20km mark, I had hit 1 hour 32 min. I told myself to
speed up so that I could at least make 1 hour 35 min. I guess, that was a
little too ambitious but I did finish 1 minute faster than my best timing for a
Half-Marathon during the Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Marathon
2014 before my injury. I finished in 1 hour 36 min according to my watch which
also accurately measured the distance as 21.1km.
The finishing chute was wide and the finishing area was also
very organized. I finished my cool down and stretching and collected my medal
and finishing t-shirt.
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| Half-Marathon Finisher T-shirt (the front) |
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| Half Marathon Finisher T-shirt (the back) |
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| Half-Marathon Finisher Medal |
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| My 1st IAAF Gold Label Road Race |
I was surprised to note that the finisher t-shirt for Half-Marathoners
did not have the IAAF gold label logo on the sleeve which was printed on the
finisher t-shirt for full-marathoners. I concluded sadly, that the glory of
being in an IAAF gold label road race was only for full-marathoners.
So, despite the fact that I had done my personal best timing
for a Half-Marathon by a miserable 1 minute, I felt terribly let down at my
first IAAF gold label road race. The post-race blues struck almost instantly but I
tried hard not to show it.
Swallowing back tears, I told myself that I should be
thankful that I completed a race within my means, without any discomfort nor
pain in my foot and what mattered most was that I had somehow finally made it
to the Gold Coast and ran this race in one piece despite all the obstacles
thrown in my way.
I pushed all the negative thoughts out of my mind and
concentrated on enjoying the rest of the trip instead.
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| Post-race pot luck dinner party at Jeanie, CY and Foo's apartment |
We had a post-race pot luck dinner party at Jeanie, CY and Foo's
apartment in Surfers Paradise that same evening to celebrate everyone’s race
finish. I tried especially hard not to show my disappointment and hide my
feelings of being left out as I was the only member in the team who did not
complete a full marathon that day. After all, I had made the choice to
downgrade didn’t I? So I had to live with the consequences. Who was I to complain
anyway? Shouldn't I be happy with my timing? Then again, I am only human and I couldn't help having these feelings.
In the end, I guess I succeeded in hiding my emotions well as no one
noticed that I was feeling down and dejected throughout the dinner.
The Aftermath
The next day, I and Yee Hoo visited the Currumbin Wildlife
Sanctuary and enjoyed a nice recovery walk thru the Forest Path followed by the
Currumbin Beach Walk before meeting the rest of the team for hi-tea with
compliments from Tourism Queensland at Q1 Skypoint Observation Deck. I would like
to thank Jamie for the opportunity to be included in this complimentary visit.
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| Petting a kangaroo at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary |
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| Forest path at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The tree helped healed my emotions as well Photo courtesy of Yee Hoo Leong |
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| Atop Q1 Skypoint Observation Deck with the GCAM MY Team Photo courtesy of Jamie Pang |
I was feeling better already and on our final day at Gold
Coast, Yee Hoo and I visited Moreton Island, Tangalooma Resort, off the coast
of Brisbane on a day-trip.
It was nice riding the boat out to the island. The fresh
air, the wind, the sunshine and the magnificent scenery helped to heal the pain
and blow away the last remnants of heartache and dejectedness.
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| On Moreton Island, Helicopter Tours are common |
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| Desert hike on Moreton Island |
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| Enjoying the sunset on the boat cruise back from Moreton Island |
I did not get to see the rest of the Gold Coast Malaysia
Team members much during the trip as they all had their own plans which didn't include us for the most part, because, I think, we stayed in a different apartment and also arrived a day later which made us seem somewhat isolated from them.
However, I would
like to thank Yee Hoo for his easygoing company throughout the trip. I would
also like to thank Nick for his constant stream of encouraging messages despite the fact that my phone ran out of credit for some strange reason and wifi access was scarce and slow when I could find a free line
We flew home the next day and here I am now feeling
re-charged and ready for the next challenge.
Something else happened as well during this time… The heel
pad on my right foot : I can hardly feel any more pain when I walk. I think I
am close to being 100% healed!
And that’s good news isn’t it? I guess I made the right
choice after all to downgrade my race category. I cannot imagine I would feel
the same if I had actually went ahead and ran the full marathon category
instead. Probably I would still be wincing in pain as I type this write-up.
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| Watching the sunrise on my last morning at Gold Coast |
I will be back to Gold Coast again for sure and God willing, this time, I hope, I will be
well enough to run the Full Marathon.
Cheers to running!
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| At Surfers Paradise with Q1 Tower in the background. |
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