Sundown Marathon 2010

NIL SINE LABORE.
How apt.
Grim remainder that there is no shortcut to success.

Without training, I was still hoping to achieve a good time for my third marathon.
Fat Hope!

After taking my wife's 爱心晚餐, I proceed to Pasir Ris to take the shuttle bus to the race site.

It was a long wait and we were on the 4th or 5th bus.
Reached race site with some time to spare.

Some final preparation, I am good to go.
ST really knows how to snake through the crowd and we got ourselves quite a nice spot in the middle of the pack.

After crossing the Start Line, everyone started running and I follow suit.
Was looking out for my friends coming in for their Half-Marathon.
Turns out to be a good thing, as it distracted me and I paced myself quite well.

Managed to run the first 5km without stopping. Surprise!!!
5km to 21km was a run-walk strategy.
Kinda of work out well for me.

First hydration station is plain water.
Second hydration has both 100-Plus and plain water.
Never had I expected that it would be the last hydration station where I will see 100-Plus!!! OMG!!!

It din bother me though, cos I had stitches after downing the 100-Plus.
Hmm... my body is rejecting 100-Plus for races this year... Wonder why...

Spotted Tigger with Ray and Aili as his pacers.
Haha, got complained for walking, so I started running. =D
Anyway, my walking pace cannot match theirs, so running seems a better option.

Entering East Coast Park , I spotted Raihan.
Was surprised when Raihan started running backwards.
Turned out, Raihan is trying to take my photo.
Thanks, bro!

Spotted the SGRunners Support Station at CarPark F2, but I din stop.
For fear that if I did, the engine may die...
Waved to them and soldier on...

Spotted Baoying. She is way ahead of the rest of the pack!
Baoying and Rachel (think I got the right person) wore the same look. Their focused blank stares look scary at times.
Next came Gia Yee, Jac (Ultra), Rynn, Kia Liang and Brian.
Brian looks to be suffering pretty badly though.
Think GY and I spotted each other, but given the bad lighting, it was too late when we tried to greet each other.
Jac? I din see her till someone else shouted out to her. =D She could even pose for the cameras! =D

The good thing about East Coast Park is that you know what lies ahead.
Everyone has run up and down the park so often that we can judge the distances pretty well.

Din smell much of the oil slick fumes till there was a sea breeze around Burger King.
Oh boy, it sure stink....
The smell is soon forgotten after we got used to it. Is that a good sign or bad, I dunno.

I was so glad when I completed 21km.
It is now a matter of counting down the distance.
A PB looks in sight.
After a sub-10min/km pace for the first 21km, I am full of hope.
4.5 hours to clear the next 21km.

Soon after the U-turn, I was assessing my position.
I am looking good. A lot of runners still behind me.
Even more runners than SCSM 2009. But SCSM 2009, I started 30 minutes late, so it could be a similar grouping.
Seeing friends on the opposite end gives me hope.
Roland, Victor, BFG (Ultra), Chris (Ultra), Chris and Lek Meng in that order.
I know all of them will pass me before the Finish Line, it is just a matter of where and when. =p

A feel of my hands and they were fine.
No water retention problem after 21km.
Even after consuming 4 cups of water per station, I was pleasantly surprised that I am skipping all port-a-loos. Interesting...
Haiz... sometimes things are better left unspoken...
Swollen hands hits after the 22km mark.

Major catastrophe struck at 22km!
The thighs started complaining...
Argh... what could be happening?
The WALL? The dreaded Wall?
Feel like giving up there and then.
I am not going to complete another 18km in this state.
Serves me right for no training. *Kicking myself in the butt*

It wasn't till the 23km that I realise what happened... Grr....
I forgot to consume my GU gel!!!
Argh... such an important thing... How can I forget?
Sleepiness, tiredness? Haha, still can find energy to place blame. =d

Thighs are complaining, but my calves ain't.
Keke... seems like my compression-in-compression strategy is working.
Moreover, the Booster calf-guards are not irritating my skin, which is a wonderful sign!

Haha... another new item? A running tee for a full marathon.
I got so much faith in the brand that I know it will pull me through.
It will disperse the heat and retain the warmth well.
The sleeves din work too well though, and I got it rolled up after 8km.
And the best advantage of all? It will look good for the cameras. =p
Cannot finish fast, but can look good right? =D

My timings are screwing up big time.
15min/km... Gosh... this is horrendous.
Tried to do a 12min/km pace but unable to so.
Started counting my odds of completing within the cut-off time.
I have to keep going at 15min/km pace for the rest of the journey and I would have 15 mins to spare.
So I can afford total break times of no more than 15mins.
Checking the pace on the watch is nerve wrecking. I switch to watch mode after 30km.

This second half of the marathon is truly mental.
Coupled with mental fatigue, it took me a while to know where I am.
I missed almost all the East Coast break stations.

The shoes are holding well.
Haha... only last year, I am lamenting how runners can wear Newtons to do a full marathon.
Yet today, I am one of them and I see a lot more runners doing the same thing. =D

30km station, I had a banana.
Unexpected but nice.
Overheard a volunteer saying "This is a hard-earned $30"

When you are mentally tired, nothing else seems to matter.
You just wanna get it over and done with.
The gazebos along Changi Coastal Road are a more accurate distance indicator than the !@#$%^ distance markers.
Each gazebo is set 1km apart.
I keep forgetting the last distance marker I crossed and have to rely on my watch.
The entrance into Aviation Road will mark the last 2km of the arduous journey.

My pace has been good for the last 2km and I intended to keep it that way.
Past quite a number of walkers along the way.
Overtook another walker along Aviation Road and started a chat.
Anything to keep your mind off the distance is a good thing and 1.5km past by very quickly.
Seeing that Neo intended to run to the Finish Line, I said my byes and urged him ahead.

About 50m to the Finish, I started my own jog and am glad and relieved to pass the Finish Line. =)
Quickly collected my bag and went to queue up for the Shuttle Bus.
With 1 hour to spare before Shuttle Bus cut-off, I am not optimistic.
Given the bloody cost-cutting measures that Hi-Velocity takes, we may not even have a shuttle bus after an hour.
Chatted with Zco and D-minus while waiting for the bus.
Think we took the last bus out of Changi Exhibition Center and there is still about 3-4 bus loads to handle.
I wonder how Ben is going to handle this.

Reached White Sands and the recovery journey started.
The steps down from the bus is painful and the walk to the bus stop is slow but rewarding.
Slept most of the way on the bus and is lucky not to miss my alighting bus stop.
After a hot shower, system went into shutdown mode. =D

Overall, a painful marathon.
A marathon that gives me more reason to give up my Ironman Dream...