I came back to Singapore and landed at Changi on Sunday after midnight, around 1am. Ashley Liew had to come back home the next day. I decided to do an interview on him the next day as I did not have any time to do it.
Picture 1 - Ashley Liew (left)and Rameshon (right) with the champion of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, Nelson Kirwa Rotich.
An Interview With Ashley Liew
What is the one word that comes in your mind on HK marathon 2011?
Happy!What went on in your mind when you knew about the numerous uphills and downhills that you had to go through during route orientation?
Thanks to my coach’s guidance, I knew beforehand that the slopes were going to be tough. Seeing them from the bus first-hand confirmed this; it hinted as to how mentally challenging it would be during the actual race. However, deep down inside I was assured by my coach that I already had the training to tackle these hills straight on. The key word from that point was “confidence”.
How was the organisation of the race?
For me it was smooth. Elite drink bottle wise, I thought the organizers did quite a good job of manning 13 elite drink points, to which I took advantage of. Thankfully I only had 1 out of 13 bottles missing. In addition, there was ample space for all runners along the way. The lack of crowd support for most of the race was unavoidable due to the route mostly being on highways. This was compensated by the majority of volunteers enthusiastically cheering each runner on. I personally did not encounter any problems with marshalling or crowd control unlike some previous racers.
The organizers did make an embarrassing mistake at the prize presentation which was splashed across local newspapers. Moreover, I was shocked to find out later that the leading men had to weave through straggling half-marathoners during the last crucial kilometers: this definitely would have slowed their time.
How do you find the organisers?
Some volunteers have a slight language barrier but at least our liaison officers could converse. Overall I would say the organizers were professional: committed to their job, yet friendly and approachable. However I think they could consider some of the feedback gathered this year to make next year even better.
How do you find my presence there?
I can say I definitely would not have hit such a time without Coach Rameshon there. Having his physical presence gave me assurance. For example, he assured me the night before the race that my “not being that excited about tomorrow’s race” was a good thing. His crucial advice, after adjusting for actual course conditions, came in very handy during the race. With him there, I could focus on doing a good time while sticking to his strategy. He helped me relax.
What made you to go for the target 2hr 42min to 2hr 45min?
Actually my target a week before the race was still 2hr 48min: a flat 4min/km pace. This initial timing was considering the anticipated hilly conditions and the lack of marathon-specific training after recovering from December’s Singapore Marathon. I wanted so badly to vindicate my 2009 and 2010 performances, where I both could not hit 2hr 48min, so I was worried targeting anything faster would blow up my entire race.
However, Mr Rameshon gave me confidence in the week leading up to the race. More and more he made me believe in myself. After all, the training was all done and the workouts showed I had the potential to quicken my target. With that confidence, I targeted sub 2hr 23min just days before.
u hitting the target during the run?
I was able to hit my 30km target split within 3 sec (1hr 56min 57sec). Until then, I was hitting most of the intermediate km split targets, with plus or minus 10sec adjustments on average due to the slopes. The plan was to stick closely to 4min/km pace all the way until a certain point to speed up slightly. When the downhills started, some runners sped up their pace too much and overtook me (Mr Rameshon had warned me about this). I reminded myself to be patient because of the “surprise” in store for the last 5 km.
I was not hurting badly by 30km yet but in anticipation, I practiced a technique used by Paula Radcliffe to block out negative thoughts. I read the day before from her autobiography (courtesy of Eugene Lim) that she used to count from 0 to 100 three times. By the time that was done, a mile was over. I practically was mentally doing this from 30 to 40km; of course I could not cover a mile in that time span but the idea was there. This was effective.
By 32km, I still felt good, although my target splits were slowing down a little bit due to the very slippery ground surface (it was very hard to catch a good grip and energy was wasted). At 35km, I actually felt mentally strong, partly due to the counting technique and partly due to the cool weather.
37km to the end was a “suffer-fest” with the sudden addition of steep slopes which affected speed and momentum. I dealt each episode by visualizing my hill training which I had done so many times before. I knew my pace was slipping and I was beginning to hurt badly but I told myself loudly not to stop. I reserved my 100% for the last km but just at that 41km mark was a short but very steep slope which made both hamstrings suddenly cramp. I had no choice but to let a Hong Kong runner go (he was pacing with me sometimes through the race) or risk disaster. But once the last downhill was done, the roaring crowds and the thought of the finish line motivated me to sprint hard to the end.
Were you tempted to go fast at the first half-marathon?
Definitely. The first half-marathon felt fantastic: my legs may not have felt like they were in perfect shape by the end of it (due to the gradual slopes) but it still felt good, so much better than the halfway mark of Singapore Marathon 2010. During U-turns I saw several runners that I could pick off if I wanted to. But I had to be patient for the first half or risk busting the race.
The first two kms did give me a bit of a scare though. I controlled for the first km and was relaxed, yet I reached the mark around 3min 35sec (I suspect the mark was near). The second km marker also felt much nearer than what I felt. Not taking any chances, I forced myself to slow down immediately afterwards and thankfully it worked.
What do you think about your negative split?
Looking back I am happy to achieve my first negative split: 1hr 23min 8sec followed by 1hr 22m 6sec. It was definitely part of our plan.
How do you feel meeting this target?
I felt vindicated of the ghosts of my previous two marathons, both of which were unable to hit 2hr 48min. When I finished, Coach Rameshon and Team Manager Aik Teng were so proud that I could achieve a personal best in Hong Kong given the hilly and slippery conditions. I felt gratitude to my coach, my girlfriend, my training partners, SAA for this opportunity, and all my close friends who encouraged me. I know my mother would be proud too (I kept calling to her for strength in the final 5 km).
How was your run here as compared to Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010?
My performance in Singapore Marathon 2010 was regrettable, although it was mostly flat. I am just happy to achieve a personal best in Hong Kong Marathon 2011 given its tough terrain.
Any lesson learnt?
Yes! In chilly countries, prepare running gloves (thank you Angie Tan for lending them), a cap for warmup, and also a proper track suit for warmup. I lacked the last two!
How did you girlfriend feel about your run?
She would have definitely wanted to be there but in this situation it was not so feasible. That aside, Zeling was delighted to hear over the phone that I achieved a personal best. She always had some feeling that I could do it.
What was the reaction of your dad on your meeting of this goal?
He was happy too. He knew in I put in a lot of hours and sacrifices for this. He kept saying how much my mother would be proud.
What is your next goal?
Another personal best at Gold Coast Marathon in July 2011!
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