First Marathon: 42.195km - A DREAM COME TRUE!

I can't believe I did it. I ran my first marathon on 2nd December 2012 and am the first person in my entire family (extended family included) to have ever run the marathon. It took me 6 hrs 46 mins (slow I know) to complete. The pain between 30km and 42km was excruciating and was so happy to have made it across the line. This is one of the greatest achievements of my life as I was almost morbidly obese at one time in my life. The turnaround to my life, physique and achievements have been huge. Running a marathon was a dream for me just 2 years ago. Today it is a reality. This proves that anything can be achieved when you put your mind to it. With this life achievement under my belt, I have now set my target on gaining a ripped physique as soon as possible; and if I can run a marathon, I can definitely do this!

50 min run + Workout

Yesterday I managed to do a 50 min run at an easy pace to get my body used to running long distances. It was a good run and the weather was good also. Afterwards, I did a 25 min workout consisting of stretches, pushups, situps, partial pullups and chest push. It wasn't a tough workout and I think the effect was perfect.

30km in 3hrs 37mins 49secs

This Sunday was a momentous day as I beat my previous longest running distance by 9km. I never thought that I could beat 21km. But I wanted to try and did the 30km in a time that I am proud of. The pain was excruciating and I took 6 Panadols when I got back home. Yesterday the pain on my leg muscles was much abated while today I can positively walk straight again - albeit with a little pain. I must say that the experience was amazing and the support by random strangers towards the end was encouraging. I am glad to have broken my personal best record and hope to break it again soon.

5km run + workout

Yesterday I went for a 5km run + a couple of km to the track and back and a workout. The workout involved stretches, pushups, situps, plank, crunches and leg-raises. This is in preparation for my long run this Sunday and hopefully everything will go well. It will be my longest and I hope to break my record doing this. I plan to take Friday and Saturday off to rest for my run...so hopefully that will pay off.

25 min Workout

Yesterday I did a 25 min workout comprising of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, plank, leg-raises, and supermans. It was a tough workout considering my arms were still aching from the previous day. Today I feel that my arms are really hurting and I think I'll only be going for a run today.

5km run + 20 min workout

The day before yesterday I went for a 5km run + a 20 min workout comprising of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, chest pushes on the body weight workout machines outside my house. Those machines are surprisingly effective and I'll be using them more often.

5km run + workout

Today I did a 5km run and a workout involving stretches, pushups, situps and crunches. It was actually longer than 5km because I had to run about 1.5 km to the track each way. However, I'm not going to count that distance and take it only as a warm up. This is good since it allows me to run longer distances without me realizing it. I'm preparing for a 30km run next weekend and hopefully these runs will help me in completing the race on time.