Name: Osaka Marathon
Date: 24/2/2025
Distance: 42.2km
Location: Osaka Castle Park
Temperature: -1C

Running gears:
Top: Uniqlo heat tech long sleeve extra warm with Asics super thin running top
Bottom: 2XU compression tight. Felt a little cold like I didn’t wear shorts 🤭
Gloves: Bought from Decathlon. Hands feeling cold. Have to lightly close my hands in fist form.
Running shoes: I’m sold with Asics Novablast 4. I have 2 pairs of NB4 and 1 pair of NB5. Will stick to Novablast as daily trainer and for long runs.
Socks: Injinji toe socks. Works well but not tested fully because I hardly sweat.
Hydration:
I was overhydrated pre-race. I needed to clear my bladder twice before the race started. During the race, a single toilet break took 15 minutes. Inexperienced running in cold, my automatic reaction was to hydrate at every hydration station. But running in cold is different, I hardly sweat. I tried to skip a few hydration stations after 15km. I didn’t experience cramps. Hydration strategy worked well.
Fueling:
I took 7 gels, had a few pieces of bananas at “meal” stations & 1 bun. No stomach discomfort & I didn’t hit the wall. The fueling strategy worked well too
Running at the race:
I ran at 7:0x/km pace throughout with 6:xx/km occasionally. Relied on breathing most of the time rather than checking my HR at Apple Watch. Checking GPS watch once a while only if I’m running too fast. 7:0x/km pace works for me. But a single toilet breaking & frequent stops at hydration stations slowed me down. Else sub-5 hours finishing was a possibility.
After the race:
Felt muscle pull at the lower part of right leg shin muscle. Hip muscles were tight, very hard to stretch quad muscles and lifting my legs. I had to slowly squat down to stretch my quad muscles. Bending down was really hard too. I was literally limping going back to the hotel 😅. Anyway, after a few hours of resting, no more limping.