The hardest part about the Hong Kong marathon is just getting a spot on the starting line. It used to be that you could fire up the web browser early and if you managed to start your registration some time between 7.00am and 7.15am on the day registrations opened, you'd get a place. Nowadays, it's a ballot system much like the sevens - it's all down to chance. Which is ironic turn on an event where everything else is about discipline, persistence, and getting out of bed early.
Anyway, with the hardest thing out of the way, the next hardest part is getting into good enough shape to complete the event without dying. Despite anecdotal stats where the last two HK Mara fatalities have been in the 10k, not dying gets exponentially harder the further the event. And having done the 10k and the half, this time I'm in for the long one.
Truth be told, with the half, you can kind of just walk it in. The experts will tell you to do this. Run/Walk is good. And it's exactly what I didn't do. I was determined to run the whole thing. And it looks like this:
So that's 2hr17m of a 165-186 heart rate. 2018 goal is to pad with regular walks that drop the HR down to about 140 and finish the 42km under the 6 hour course limit. Complete the event. Don't die trying.
Too much running is going to just mess up my knees. Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) had me crippled for three days after the half, so this year's training will be based around
- Rowing machine (cardio)
- Mountain hiking (high-hr endurance)
- Cycling (strengthening/cardio)
The hiking is the key progress measurement. Aiming to change that red graph from 165-186bpm/2hr15 to 140-185bpm/6hr.
Before race day.
Before race day.
94 days to do it.
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