Trust the process.

Some football fans will point to this phrase whenever their team is going through a rough patch in form.

For Maribelle Su, who goes by Morobollo on TikTok, trusting the process was fully applicable to her preparation for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. 

The 23-year-old student will be taking part in her first-ever half marathon. In case you didn't know, that's a whopping 21.1km of road running. 

This international race is an annual event held on the first Sunday of December, and Maribelle has began her training nice and early.

On Sept 5, she provided a glimpse into what the first day of training was like. Maribelle looked a determined person, having put aside approximately three months to prepare for the half marathon.

Her training period is in line with that of training plans from fitness magazine Runner's World.

The magazine has specifically tailored training plans for half marathons, lasting from 10 to 14 weeks.

Day one of the training programme was waking up at 6am to go for a 45-minute slow run.

Watch on TikTok

Maribelle told AsiaOne that she had always wanted to run a full marathon and felt that doing a half marathon would be a "good start".

"Plus signing up for an event keeps me accountable for my training," she added.

Her goal is to complete the half marathon within two-and-a-half hours.

As this will be her first attempt at a half marathon, Maribelle mentioned wanting to document her progress in the lead-up to the big day on Dec 3.

The next couple of months will see her attempt to balance running exercises and gym sessions in order to be a hybrid athlete, she said.

Before starting the slow run, she reminded her viewers of an important pre-workout routine.

"Don't forget your warm-up guys," Maribelle said. 

She mentioned how she enjoys running in the morning. However, what she didn't quite enjoy from this first run was how "painfully slow" it was.

Maribelle was running at a zone two heart rate, which happens to be around 150 beats per minute.

Sports and conditioning coach Andy Vincent defines zone two as "65 per cent to 75 per cent of your maximum heart rate".

This allows one to run at an easy pace and maintain a conversation without getting too out of breath. 

The 45-minute slow run allowed Maribelle to cover 5km.

She displayed her timings and urged viewers not to judge her.

"I'm still trying. Hopefully, I'll see some progress when I continue this zone two heart-rate training."

According to fitness and health website Levels, zone two cardio can help build endurance and improve metabolic health without the need for long recovery periods.

These two attributes are crucial for long-distance running, especially for lasting the full distance of 21.1km in a half marathon. 

On the other hand, running at a slow pace can be "quite mentally challenging", Maribelle admits. 

But she understands that this is part of the process of adapting to long-distance running.

While half marathons might not be to everyone's liking, Maribelle shared a valuable piece of advice for those looking to start their fitness journey.

"Just start and show up! Do it with a friend or ask a friend for guidance, it's always easier than starting alone," she advised.

ALSO READ: 'Crazy but challenge accepted': SAF officer runs 24km from home to work just 'to beat morning traffic'

amierul@asiaone.com

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