My most satisfying 21km run to date. =)
Woke up at 3:35am.
Hitch a ride from Supcon. Thanks, bro!
Reached the race site with some time to spare.
Went to the loo and when I am ready to go, it is already 5:38!!!
The body felt good, the weather is good.
How I am going to fare during the race is anyone's guess though. =)
Saw a lady dropped her GU gel. I U-turned back and picked it up for her.
Reason is simple... A gel is a runner's lifeline during a race.
Out onto Sheares Bridge, I am still running comfortably.
The thought of walking has not crossed my mind yet.
I never thought I will feel so good. =D
Going up the flyover, an interesting thought cross my mind.
It may help a lot if I do forefoot up the slope...
So up the slope I go on forefoot.
Expecting my heart rate to go into overdrive, I am surprised I went over the slope still feeling pretty relaxed. Nice!!!
Took 100-plus at the 2nd water point and it seems to trigger an onset of diarrhoea.
Fortunately, the feeling ebbed after a while. *Phew*
The 5km mark is coming up.
A glance at my watch makes me pick up my pace. =p
Crossed the 5km mark in less than 35min. Woot!!! A season's best. =D
Running in East Coast Park, I try to attempt something new again. =D
If I can draft during a swim and bike, drafting while running should provide some advantage as well...
Found a pacer and ran behind him.
Woot, it really does helps!!! =)
The heart rate is keep low even though my pace has definitely picked up. Cool!!!
7km, the water point is coming up.
Reluctantly, I let my pacer go ahead. =(
Swallowing a packet of gel and water, I proceed on.
The U-turn point came up pretty fast, catching me by surprise.
9.5km....
Another glance at the time elapsed made me pick up my pace again...
10km... missed the initial target of 1:15...., but 1:16 is another season's best! =D
I am feeling extremely happy now... =D
Running past Big Splash bring back memories of Aviva IM 70.3 S'pore.
Turning onto the East Coast Service Road is like deja vu...
My favourite song happens to play at this time... =D
I sing along in between gasps of breath.
Haha... the runners beside me must think that I am crazy. =D
Onto Fort Road...13km...
Ahh... feeling hungry now...
The body is like clockwork... need the gel every 7km...
Did I train it to do so? =p
No water point in sight... Argh...
The engine is running on fumes now... HELP!!!
1km later, saw the water point coming up, quickly gulped down the gel assisted with water.
1km, 10mins...
Do-able, very do-able...
I do not know where the energy comes from...
One moment, I feel like crashing... next moment I am chasing yet another target...
15km...sub 2... Wow!!! This has to be a personal best!!! =D
Having consumed both my gels, I am starting to panic...
I definitely need another one more...
Lesson learnt... always bring more gels than you think you need....
16km...Banana station...
What a relief...
Turning into the F1 tracks, my feet felt soaked...
Can feel blisters trying to form on both soles.
Geez...bad sign... If it get too bad, I am be forced to walk the rest of the way... =(
Got emo at 18km...what is happening?
This is not my first 21km...why the sudden rush of emotions...
Everytime I start walking... I got very emotional...
My sub-3 hr seems like a reality...
But with 1km to go, I realised that I can go even one better...
I may be able to achieve a personal best!!!
1km 10mins...
The legs started pumping...
Alas...it did not last long....
With 400m to go...I have 4 minutes to spare....
The record is mine to lose....
Tried as hard as I could, I just could not push myself much faster beyond snail's pace...
Argh... let's not think too much...
Just enjoy the race....
Turning into the final straight, I was surprised to find that the finish line has been brought forward.
Picked up the pace and crossed the line in a personal timed finish of 2:53:53.
Wow!!! PB PB PB!!! So happy...
Proceed to collect my finisher's medal on a very dry Padang ground...
Had 2 cans of 100-Plus while chatting with ST before proceeding home...
Kudos to the organisers for a well-organised race. =)
3 comments:
well done jodan on your PB for 21km. Good to hear you enjoying your races, despite this being a pure running race. I ran 10 only, agree race was well organised for the shortdistance I did run. hee hee.
Great race, Jodan and congrats on your PB!
Drafting works even better when running in a pack, just like cycling. Especially in windy conditions (I learnt that from Tokyo).
Thanks, Sywog and BFG. =)
This race turns out better than I expected.
Will post the reason in my next post.
Stay tuned. =)
BFG, I came out of draft zone and find it much harder to run.
But I have trouble finding a runner whose pace is similar to mine.
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