Despite having to juggle his day job as an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident at the National University Hospital Sports Centre, national runner Mok Ying Ren, 28, is confident of qualifying for the Marathon event at the upcoming 2017 South East Asia (SEA) Games taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mok is confident of his chances of qualifying for the 2017 SEA Games.
(Photo Credit: OSIM Sundown Marathon)
Running Seoul Marathon to qualify
He will be running the Seoul Marathon on March 19 in an attempt to qualify. Said Mok, “The main aim is to qualify for the SEA Games. It is secondary to try and get a good timing. The marathon is a long race and if you gamble too much at the start, you will lose everything at the end. If I still feel good in the second half, I will push for a better time.”
He added, “As the race is coming up soon, now is the tapering process, and to focus on getting ready and staying healthy. I did my last long run last weekend, that was a 6x5km run at East Coast Park, which was 30km altogether, and that indicates good fitness levels despite running only once a day. And not falling sick is also a main concern for me; so I have also been wearing my mask at work.”
Work comes first
Mok will be competing in the Seoul Marathon.
Mok admits that as a full-time employee, work commitments are still the priority though and and running becomes secondary. He said, “Though I am confident of my chances, I have to be realistic about my work expectations. Now I have started residency training, there is an expectation to do well at work too. So the priority is work.
His work requires him to work rotating shifts. So this means that he does not have fixed working hours each day.
But being focused helps him though. He explained, “I make sure that I complete one run a day whether it is a workout or a long run, I try and check it off. I am taking one day at a time. If I work in the evenings, I run in the mornings, and if I work in the mornings, then I run home.”
Not taking time off to train
Due to work, Mok also added that he will not be taking time off to train for the SEA Games, should he qualify. He said “residency is a new ball game and you can’t just take time off. That will be a challenge but I think it will go well. One run a day so far over the last six to eight months has shown that it is quite effective in terms of training benefits. This will be the first major marathon that I will be training for while working and running, but if everything goes well, it will be a great indicator of my training and will give me more confidence in the years to come.”
Mok also pointed out that running is all about consistency and patience, after all. He said, “What you do today will affect your performance about five years later. Also, who you run with is important, so try and find friends who can motivate each other and simply enjoy the process.”
Have Trust in your training
Added Mok, “But no matter what, have trust in your marathon training. Last minute training will never bring positive benefits on the race outcome. Remember that you need to let your body rest too, and you will be able to recover, rather than training and pushing hard, and your body will break down.”
Trust in your training, says Mok.
This is so for runners who are taking part in the upcoming Sundown Marathon, taking place at the end of this month. Those running the Marathon should be peaking and getting ready to taper.
For races, Mok also added that it may be important to get used to the timing of day that the race is taking place. He said “For Sundown Marathon for example, if the person is not used to running at night, then you need to train at that time. I run in the day so night running can be a real challenge for me. Towards the race, just do a few runs at the timing that the race will flag off to get used to it. But you don’t need to do all of your training sessions at the same time.”
Mok is currently managed by ONEathlete. For enquiries please contact jed@onemanagement.sg
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