Rugby World Cup 2019 in Kyushu: Beppu, Oita, Fukuoka

We went to the Kyushu region in October 2019 to soak in the Rugby World Cup fever, and also because we decided to ballot for the New Zealand v Canada game, which was held in Oita Stadium.

This time, we stopped over at 3 cities: Beppu, Oita and Fukuoka. We got the 5 day Northern Kyushu Japan rail pass, which was 10k yen per person. We bought ours from Changi Recommends!

Beppu

Travelling to Beppu from Fukuoka airport:
1. Take bus 2 to Hakata Shinkansen station (260 yen per pax, 500 yen for 2 pax). Tickets can be purchased from the airport tourist information counter, and the ticket will only be placed into the fare box at the end of the trip, NOT at the start!

2. Take the Shinkansen from Hakata to Beppu: You can check and compare the different types of trains. The information boards are pretty clear on which type of Shinkansen it is and whether it stops at Beppu and how long it takes.

For some reason, most things in Beppu were closed the day we arrived, which was rather strange. So, we actually took the train into Oita, which is the next biggest city, to check out the Rugby fanzone area. The fan zones are cool because they have these HUGE screens that allow you to watch the matches live! We ended up watching Scotland v Samoa for awhile.

One of the many huge posters around in Oita!

Funai Castle Ruins

Mt Kuju hiking
This was the highlight of my Beppu trip. I read that the autumn foliage at Mt Kuju is super pretty!

Travelling to Mt Kuju: This was expensive, but it was the only way if you don't drive. Take bus 2 (Kyushu odan bus) from beppu ekimae honmachi stop, which is right outside the train station. It costs 2500 yen per person and takes about 2h to reach the Makinoto pass, which is the start point for the hike. You should reserve beforehand, but otherwise you can just go on the bus and see if there are vacancies. We were fortunate and we had vacancies! Do take note that the road is a bit winding, so if you have motion sickness do bring something to munch on.

We started hiking at around 1040 and finished at around 1450! But we were considered a bit faster than average. Most people take about 5-6 hours to complete, so you need to see your fitness level and how fast you usually take to hike! Because there are different bus timings that you need to meet. We took the 1534 bus out of the Makinoto pass and stopped at Yufuin (it's cheaper that way). We had dinner in yufuin before returning back to Beppu via train, since we had the pass. Note that most things in Yufuin close by 6pm.

Difficulty of Mt Kuju hike: moderate. A normal fitness level would allow you to climb up to the summit. However, a better shoe would help you more than just normal sneakers, because there were many portions where we were treading over rocky terrain. It will be a nice day workout! Also, there was no autumn foliage when we were there ):

Starting out nice and easy - with ice cream and steamed bun!

 One of the typical rocky passes we had to go through

This might be challenging for people who aren't used to it

Always love it when the path opens up!

Multiple signs to go to different summits

No autumn foliage, but still a pretty sight!

View from the Summit

More views from the summit!

Oita 

Rugby World Cup day in Oita: take a train in early because there will be a huge crowd of people doing so! The trains were packed.

We also did an early check in at the hotel and ate an early dinner at Ikinari steak (it's a very good steak chain in Japan!) 

To get to the stadium: There are shuttle buses provided, but the queue was insane so be prepared to wait! We still managed to reach the stadium 1 hour+ earlier than the start time. So, don't ever take the cab because the shuttle buses are free and the cabs had an insane queue too. 

The atmosphere at the stadium was SO GOOD. We thoroughly enjoyed the game even though it was a thrashing match oops. At the end of the match, there was also a long queue for the shuttle bus back and there was a jam at the stop point because everyone was getting down the buses.

Plenty of photo ops throughout Oita

At the stadium!

The tickets are so pretty!

Fukuoka

This isn't our first time in Fukuoka, so we skipped quite a bit of some touristy things and went for things that we really wanted to do.

Marinoa City Outlet: This is quite a large outlet mall with cool Japanese brands (not just the super branded stuff) like Ikka, Earth etc.

Canal City Hakata: We just passed by this, mainly for the food. There are also other shopping malls near Hakata station that are not too bad!

Walking trail: Hakata - Tenjin - Ohori park - Tenjin - Hakata

Ohori park is highly recommended! It's such a nice place for a walk/run.

Stopping for an ice cream break! Japan's soft serves are SO GOOD.

Ohori Park

Managed to catch the sunset there!

That sums up the Kyushu portion of our trip! 

How to train for a full marathon

If you've been running a couple of half marathons, and you want to challenge yourself and increase your distance to a full marathon, this post is for you! For those who have only been running 10km so far, you can use the tips from this post to get you to the half marathon distance (: If you're just starting out your fitness journey, read my post here for other tips!

Doubling your distance from a half to a full marathon seems daunting, but with consistent training, you'll eventually be able to get there, and survive the full marathon distance well! It took me a few months to train up my body to endure the distance, so here's my training plan, for those of you who feel that you don't know what to do.

Up till 3 months prior to race day:

Have a mix of different types of runs - 

I always do at least one of each type every week (which means I run at least 3 times a week) - sprint intervals, tempo run, long distance run.

For sprint intervals, I usually do 6 x 400m, with 100% rest time in between. This means that if you take 2 min to run 400m, you will rest 2 min before running the next lap. You can always modify this and lengthen/shorten the distance of each lap, or increase/decrease the number of laps. Sprints are the best way to increase your speed.

Tempo runs are slightly longer than sprints. They're meant to increase your functional threshold and train you to run longer at a faster pace. This should be about 30s per km faster than your normal race pace, but slower than sprints. I started out with 2 x 2km, then progressed on to 2 x 2.5km and then 2 x 3km, with a 100% rest in between as well. Once you're able to do that, you can also do the full 6km at the faster pace.

Long distance runs are great for recovery. I usually do them in between my sprint intervals and tempo run because the other two types of training will give you aches, so you need to do the long run to recover. My long runs started out being only 10km, then I slowly increased my distance by 2km. Once I'm comfortable with the increased distance, I will then increase by another 2km. You should run these at your normal race pace and it should be fully aerobic.

For me, I get sick of running quite easily, so I need to vary my exercises. On the other days when I'm not running, I will do other forms of strength training - core, legs, arms. All these muscle groups are essential for running as well, because they help to maintain your posture and prevent injuries from occurring due to bad posture while running. I also cycle and swim.

Less than 3 months to race day:

This is when I start to cut the strength and speed portions of my training and focus on the distance. I sprained my ankle ligament last year due to a sudden increase in my running distance, causing a huge strain on my ankle. Hence, I was very cautious this year so that I wouldn't injure myself before or during the full marathon.

Once a week, I would elongate my distance to train my endurance. 3 months = 12 weeks. This was what my plan looked like:
2-8 September - 12km
9-15 September - 15km
16-22 September - 18km
23-29 September - 21km
30 Sept - 6 October - 15km (in Japan)
7-13 October - 17km (in Japan)
14-20 October - 21km
21-27 October - 25km
28 Oct - 3 November - 21km (Great Eastern Women's Run)
4-10 November - 30km
11-17 November - 35km
18-24 November - 27km
25-29 November - 10km
30 November - Full Marathon race day

I didn't stick to this strictly though, because you really need to see how your body recovers. For example, when I came back from my trip in Japan, my body was tired and couldn't do a 21km that week, so instead of 25km the following week, I cut it down to 21km instead. Also, my feet didn't recover sufficiently and we had bad nutrition planning before the 35km run, so it ended up being only 33.5km. That was the longest run I did before the actual full marathon.

You need not follow my plan. I had some ups and downs due to a holiday and another half marathon race on 3 November. The most important thing is to increase the distance gradually and listen to your body. Also, about 3 weeks to the race day, remember to train at the timing of the race. Mine was an evening race, so I had to get used to running at that timing.

What did I do for the other runs in the week other than the one long run? I stuck to 10-12km runs. My total mileage per week was about 50km. My feet really started to hurt over time and that was something I couldn't get rid of, until the full marathon was over. I just massaged them and let them recover just enough so that they wouldn't hurt when I ran. That's why it's extremely important to increase the distance gradually, otherwise your body would be in shock from the distance and it might cause more injuries.

Another tip: your shoe is VERY important. Choose the correct shoe. I decided to try a new brand of shoes because my previous pair was wearing out. The first few runs were okay, but after awhile when I started to run longer distances continuously, I found that the same area on the base of my feet started  to hurt very badly. That's when I decided that the shoe wasn't suitable for me and I had to change my shoe. I ended up buying the same model of shoe, but the newer version (Asics Gel Kayano 26) and the pain went away. Once you've found a pair that works for you, just stick to it!

There you go! I hope this post helps you as you train for your full marathon (: It's really not that bad! Just train consistently and you will get there.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2019 Race Report: My first full marathon!

In a bid to double my distance every year since 2016, I wanted to sign up for a full marathon this year, and what better race to start it with than THE Singapore Marathon, right? So when registrations opened earlier this year, I immediately signed up before I started to question my decision.

D-1 to race day: Race pack collection @ Marina Bay Sands Expo

The race pack collection was extremely efficient - there were separate queues for all the various types of races, so it disperses the crowd. There were also many counters to speed up the whole process! I didn't have to queue at all (but I also went at an odd hour). After the collection, you'll be directed to the merchandise area, where I bought a pair of socks because they were reasonably priced at $17 and I didn't really have very good running socks. From there, the next section would be the Standard Chartered section with plenty of photo opportunities! Also, dutch colony was giving out free drinks (coffee/tea/chocolate). The last section was the partners area, which interested me the most! It was huge and the traffic flow was well directed because you need to follow a certain path, which made going through the booths very orderly. Koda set up a booth where you could try the gels and energy bars, which was great because I wanted to see if their gels suited me before taking them during the race itself. There were also many other running events organisers that set up booths to promote overseas races! I was rather drawn in by those because I can travel and run at the same time :P Shall try for one next year! Overall, this is the most interesting race pack collection I have ever experienced, because of the sheer number of partners involved.

D-0 to Race Day: What to do prior to an evening race

There were 2 things I was concerned about - lethargy and nutrition. I've done one evening race in 2018, the ASICS relay, and I recalled that I felt heavy when I started running and developed a stitch during the race. Let's face it - everyone prefers to run in the morning when their muscles are all fresh as compared to the evening when they're worn out from a day's work. My other concern was my chronic gastritis, which has acted up during my evening trainings due to insufficient nutrition prior to the run. So I had to balance. I needed enough nutrition to not feel hungry, and yet not too much so that it would make me heavy or give me a stitch. For lethargy, afternoon naps usually give me a headache, so I had to make sure that my activities in the day were kept to a minimum but not make me feel sluggish. 

The following plan worked for me. This is really personal and you need to know your body and how it functions and reacts, so the key is really to try various things BEFORE the race when you're doing your long distance trainings to see what works. 

1. Breakfast at 10am - cereal. Light, but filled with carbs.

2. Lunch at noon - Japanese wafu pasta. Again, carb-heavy, but not cream-based.

3. Tea break at 3pm - bread. To me, bread is light but filling. I ate about 2-3 bun equivalents. 

4. Pre-race nutrition at 5pm - Koda energy bar (half) and a banana for quick release energy.

I woke up at about 8+am (had about 8 hours of sleep) and didn't nap at all. I spent most of my day lounging around watching dramas, with the exception of walking 2-3km during lunch. I also made sure to shower before the race to feel fresh! I feel that it helps mentally, especially since Singapore is such a humid country. 

Tip: give yourself at least an hour to get to the start point of the race. We ended up getting stuck in a jam and it doubled our travelling time. As a result, we JUST managed to make it into the start pen before it closed. It didn't really help emotionally because I was already worried about the race, and I had to worry about even reaching on time. 

The race itself

I had familiarised myself with all the rest points that I needed to take nutrition (iso/water/gel). This was based on all the trial and error I had done previously during my training. I also went through the route in my head multiple times, so I roughly knew the landmarks for the various distances. 

I started out well - clocking an average pace of 6:10 min/km, which was what I wanted. I managed to maintain this for the first 10-15km or so, taking my first nutrition intake of pretzel at the 11.6km rest point. (Side note: don't take all the pretzels. I didn't want to waste food so I held them in my hand and ate them as I ran but they were really too dry.) I think I was doing well till about the half marathon distance. I had planned to take my nutrition at the 23.6km mark, but ended up taking my GU gel (Caramel Macchiato) at the 21km mark instead because I needed it. Thereafter, I stopped at quite a number of rest points to take in iso and water because I was afraid of cramping and I had hit a wall in my speed - it dropped to about 6:30 min/km instead. From 25km onwards I maintained that pace throughout till the end, slowing down to 7 min/km if I stopped to take in nutrition. I had wanted to only take in water/iso every 4km, which is roughly every alternate rest point. However, due to the humidity and warm temperature due to increase in body heat of all the runners, I constantly felt the need to take in the cold liquids because they felt nice. That was a mistake because I ended up being too bloated on liquids and had to force myself to not take in any for awhile. Also, I was worried about cramping up halfway so I took in a lot of isotonic, which made my stomach feel weird towards the end. I think I could have gone without some. In the end, I took my food intake at these points - pretzel at 11.6km, caramel macchiato GU gel at 21km, cola vanilla Koda gel at 30km and Cappuccino Shotz gel at 37km. All my gels had caffeine in them to give me the adrenaline I needed in the second half of the race. My wall lasted from about the 25th to 35th km, then I got my second wind at around the 38thkm as I ran up Sheares bridge. This is the thing about slopes - DO NOT look up. It feels daunting when you do that and you might think that you're not able to do it. Just take it step by step. It's actually pretty gradual and you won't feel it as much as you think. I did a lot of slopes training previously when I was training for a hike and that really helped build muscles in my legs to take me up the slope with ease. 

For the last few km, it's really all in the mind. I pushed on, knowing that I was nearing the end. I was a bit gutted by then, because I was aiming for 4h 30 min and I knew that I would not be able to make it, but I still tried my best anyway! During the last stretch, this girl who was running near me for about 7-8km or so suddenly shot out in front of me on my right. I was inspired and started sprinting like crazy for the last 50m or so, ending my marathon strong! I clocked 4:35:01, which ain't too bad for a first time, if I may say so myself. :P

There were a lot of lessons to be learnt, like do not over-drink isotonic and water, as well as do not eat pretzels because they are too dry. But I'm proud of what I've achieved, and that could only come with all the training that I've done in the months leading up to the marathon, mostly from September onwards. 

A big thank you to the Ironman organisers for such a great event - there was no lack of gel, banana, water or isotonic drinks. There were also great performances along the way, which were interesting. Also a big thank you to my family for supporting me by live tracking me on the app and taking screenshots whenever I've cleared a checkpoint. I couldn't have done this without the support and company of my dearest, who trained with me, participated with me, and made the crazy decision to do this with me, even though in the end didn't do so well himself because he wasn't feeling well. Last but not least, all glory to God, because only He can give me the strength to run and also be my constant companion. When I hit the wall at the 25km mark, it was Him I turned to and I prayed through it. 

My first marathon, and certainly not my last!

My extremely consistent pace:

Also, some pictures courtesy of finisherpix, though I'm too poor to download them in high res.