He might have fallen short of his personal best (PB) time but Singapore marathoner Mok Ying Ren, who ran the half-marathon at yesterday's Christchurch Marathon, is not worried ahead of the Aug 19-30 SEA Games.
The 28-year-old completed the 21.1km in 1hr 11min 33sec, off his personal best and national record of 1:07:08 set in January last year. He finished 10th overall in the category, which had 1,736 runners.
Mok told The Straits Times in a phone interview: "I wish I'd gone faster. I managed to run a good 10km but the rest of the race (went downhill).
"The conditions were not ideal. It was a bit cold and drizzling throughout, but I'd say we met the objectives of this run.
"In the past, I'd feel sad after a bad race but I've learnt not to be too affected. Ideally you want to set a personal best every time you run but that's not very possible.
"This is something I've learnt from interacting with the professional runners."
There is no time to rest for Mok, who returns to Singapore today and will resume juggling training and his work as an orthopaedic surgical resident.
He runs every day, including one or two key workouts a week and a long run during the weekend.
The 2013 SEA Games marathon champion, who is managed by ONEathlete, said he expects a challenging two months ahead of the Kuala Lumpur Games.
Mok, who also won a Games triathlon gold in 2007, said: "In July, I will start the second year of my six-year residency. There will be more expectations (at work) but I'm looking forward to that.
"It's important to take things in your stride and to keep pushing on."
