A second attemptDisclaimer: I realised this was a superbly long and detailed and boring write-up. If you are here for entertainment, don't bother reading on. heh. :P
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On the night before, I checked my records:
- Last year: training started since early jan, the furthest I ran was 7k.
- This yr: due to my chronic cough, training only started in early apr; there was only a total of 6 runs and the furthest was only for 6.3km.
Based on the numbers, it's is not likely that I will be able to outdo my last yr's performance. :(
Nonetheless, I did all I could to be in the best state for the race. I slpt as early as possible, took afternoon nap, conciously reminded myself to drink water, ate non-spicy non-coconut stuff, etc. However there were butterflies in my tummy all day long. My nervousness caused me to be tensed and tired towards the end of the day. I wasn't mentally prepared for the race either. I didn't keep track of the timing before the race and was kinda rushed into the race pen upon last call by the ushers. And even the start of the race came so abruptly. We were shuffling towards the front intermittently not knowing what's happening, and it was only when the people in front started running that I realized the race had started.
Anyway as the race started, I simply followed the pace of the crowd and ran. It was pretty good, probably cos I was still quite hyped up at the thought of a 10km run in the city with so much company. The first hydration stn came up quickly and in order to keep myself hydrated, I went to get a cup of water and gulped it down. It turned out to be a bad move because it didn't take long before a stitch kicked in on the side of the tummy. It was only abt 3km into the race and I had to stopped running cos of the pain. I switched between brisk walking (since my legs were ok but it's the stomach that can't take the vibration) and running as far as I could each time. This was v disappointing because it is definitely going to slow me down a lot. Still, I tried to push as much as I could. Not sure if it was the pain, or the night breeze, or it was my energy that was being depleted, I felt colder and colder as I ran. The reception was also v bad - most of the time MeRadio couldn't work. So most of the time I was running while listening to the rhythm of others' stride.
It was a rather painful run but spending most of my attention trying to overtake and siaming people made the run felt shorter than it was. I didn't keep track of the time and distance throughout too. There were not many distance markers, and there was an additional hydration stn in the tunnel in addition to the original five, causing me to miscalculate the distance. It was only when I finally turned into Nicoll highway for the last stretch that I saw the 9km marker and realized the end is near! It was 11.47pm at that time. What was in my mind then was :"My timing last year was abt 1h 25min. At the 9th km, I had already taken 1h 27min. Disappointing! *sigh*" I gave in to the pain from the stitch yet again and stopped running. After abt 10s of brisk walking, it suddenly striked me that I did my maths wrongly and only 1h 17min had passed! This is assuming that the race started on time at 10.30pm which I didn't think they did! Silly me.. I still had a chance to beat my last year's timing!! That's when I started running again despite the pain. 1km shouldn't be v long.. but it felt like quite a while before I started seeing people along the sideline cheering. In the far distance, there were flashes of lights - from cameras! "At last, the end was near!" Physically my body wanted to slow down, but my mind kept ignoring it and pushed myself on. When I was finally near enough to the finishing line to see the clock, it was at 1h 19min! "Yes, I could still make it!!"
I crossed the finishing line before 1h 20min! It was a mixture of exhilaration and exhaustion. Exhilarated that I did better than last year despite the stitch!!! But super exhausted from enduring the pain throughout and the body was already drained of energy and feeling cold.
Thereafter I just sat in front of the big screen, not able to move and waited for my dear to complete his 21km.
Weather wasn't kind to the runners as heavy rain came before he crossed the finishing line, and eventually we had to hide our drenched selves in the tent feeling cold and miserable. :( It was quite some time before the rain got lighter so that we could collect my bag and rush home. While in the comfort of the car, we saw the full marathon runners still on the road braving the rain. They must have been running in the cold and rain for the past 1+ hr!! They were awesome!! Respect!!
At last, after a hot shower and a bowl of maggi mee which we ate with our eyes half (or rather, fully) closed, the sky was already bright. From sundown to sunrise. Hopefully next year the run start time won't be so late!