Singapore Marathon on 3 Dec`06 (Sun)

Pre-race
Was stucked at office till 8pm+ on Sat -- didn't get the much needed rest before a marathon :( After a quick dinner of Korean Bibimbap (mixed vegetables and chicken meat over rice with hot sauce) @ Harbourfront, I reached home at 10pm. Luckily I had pack my race stuff on Friday night -- juz need to pin my race & reason-to-run bib and tie the timing chip to my running shoe. Had to adjust the lock lace to release the extra tension with the timing chip. Heed ultra sifu advice and drank a cup of concentrated salt water before going to bed. Finally managed to sleep at 11.30pm -- but was woke up by a sms closed to midnight from a friend (to wish me good luck for the marathon)! Arghh -- good thing I was tired after a long day at work and fell back to my sleep soon. Woke up at 2.30am to go toilet, "conveniently" ate my breakfast (2 raisin buns) and went back to bed. Alarm rang @ 3.45am and gave George & gentle a wake-up sms (we were sharing cab to the start line). After putting on my race gear (nike red top & black running tights and Mizuno Inspire2 shoes), I was all set for a fun and enjoyable race. Received sms from tktan -- "Good morning! All ready to fly? Dun 4get 2 bring ur helicopter. :)" Haa haa, can this RED doraemon fly without her helicopter 2day?

Race Day - Part 1 of race
Reached City Hall @ 5am+ and went for a quick toilet break @ the shopping mall(there was a queue for the gents but not the ladies :P) -- chanced upon roentgen, JT and BR and wished everyone a good race. We proceed to the baggage deposit to drop off our barang. Did a slow jog to warm up the legs (George saw me running and said "the marathon has not started yet!") and followed with stretching exercises. Then "power up" with a pack of Hammer Gel (tropical flavoured). As we made our way to the start line, met up with more SgRunners (tktan, cokiee, andy, alvo, meteror, teelee etc.) along the way -- wish one another good luck! teelee, tktan & me squeezed into the under 4hr section -- spotted sub4 pacers and some Safra Runners. After a seemingly long 10min wait, the race was flagged off by Minister of Health. Started my stopwatch as I crossed the timing mat and tried to weave through the crowd. Hey, Uncle Ee, whom I met @ Phuket Mountain Beach Marathon was infront of me -- he was much faster in zig-zagging thru the human maze! Spotted freddy infront and tailgated him @ Marina South. Wow, the elites sped passed on the opposite side at the steamboat area -- clapped to cheer them on. After the u-turn @ Marina Jetty, heard sub4 pacers behind me -- David was chatting loudly with an ang mo(with 2 ballons tied to his back) who juz pee in the bush. Oh dear, was I running slower than my intended 5:15min/km pace -- the 4hr pacers' strategy was to start @ 5:30min/km pace and slow down to 5:45min/km pace? At the 11km mark, heard DO shouted that "Doraemon, Ee Ah Seng is running beside you!". Sure enough, Uncle Ee was right next to me. We exchanged greetings and he commented that my pace was good for sub4 -- hmm, the sub4 pacers juz overtook me! Stopped for my 1st re-fuel break @ water station near 12km and kept the sub4 pacers in sight. As we exit from Marina South, tktan was running alongside me -- gave each other a thumb up for good body condition so far. He cautioned me to run at my own pace -- think he could sense my anxiety that the sub4 pacers were infront. Time check @ 13km was 1h 08min -- hey, that was 5:15min/km pace! Phew, began to relax -- the sub4 pacers were doing a much faster pace! Along Nicoll Highway, IMD ran passed and stopped to snap picture of tktan & me. Caught up with Terence -- he was glad his pacer(me) finally arrived (we ran together for the rest of the race -- at times, I stopped for water & re-fuel break and caught up later).Time check @ 21km was 1h 52min -- wow, that's a cool 5:20min/km pace. Took my 2nd refuel break @ 22km.

Part 2 of the race
There were many supporters along ECP -- near MacDonalds, saw roonz and FD who cheered for me (Terence was impressed with my "popularity".. haa haa). Weather was great (cool & cloudy) and I was feeling good, except for a growing blister on my 4th toe of the right foot -- haiz, it was due to the lock lace being adjusted to fit in the timing chip. Could feel the bubble getting bigger and had to adjust my foot landing to minimize the pain. Ok Ok, mind over body -- think less pain. Juz before the U-turn @ the lagoon, was glad to spot the sub4 pacers and waved to David. After the U-turn, TLR caught up with me and encouraged me with "good run". Spotted many SgRunners(BR, dasher, gentle, roentgen etc.) on the opposite lane -- gave one another a thumb up! tktan MIA for a while and re-appeared ard the 28km mark -- haa haa, he stopped for a "bomb session" and had to skip 3 water station to catch up with me! He needed deep heat for his sore thigh -- I wanted to pass him mine but he said he could wait till the next medical station. We were greeted by a group of SgRunners supporters @ 30km -- tktan went straight for the sponge and deep heat spray. I juz waved and zoom passed -- sorry, kickjazz, didn't stop for photo shoot. Took my 3rd re-fuel break @ 32km. Towards Fort Rd, more runners stopped to walk -- seemed like many suffered muscle cramps(due to the flat terrain) along this stretch. This is typically know as "hit the wall". Time check @ 33km was 2h 58min -- cool 5:24min/km pace. Wow, very happy to exit Ford Road and continue on to Mounbatten Road. Families were having picnic with kids and wine in wine glasses while waiting to cheer their loved ones. Then it dawned on me that I may be able to make it under sub4! Refuel with my final Gu Gel with caffine @ 36km and pushed on -- tktan enjoyed the spraying water while re-fuelling, too. With final 8 more km, tktan encouraged me with "do ur best and go for ur best timing!" and ran ahead. His luminous yellow camelbak became my target. There was a loud band playing music to cheer the runners. DR overtook me "silently" @ Kallang Rd and I soon lost sight of tktan as he turned into Crawford St to Marina Promenade. Was contemplating whether I should skip the water stations for the last 3km -- decided against it and made quick stop juz to sip half a cup of water/isotonic drink. Saw the 40km marker -- juz 2 more km to go... Then Esplanade appeared ahead -- and 41km marker! As I ran up from the underpass, the timing clock showed 3h 57min -- Eddie saw me and cheered with "RUN -- 2min to sub4! U can make it!" With the last 100m, the crowd was cheering and bee, our SgRunners' runspirator, shouted "Xiao Ding Dang" but all I could hear was the emcee shouting "2 more minutes to sub4" and he turned and looked at me "Can she do it?". Let out a scream and dashed through the finish line -- gun time 3h59m3s & chip time 3h58m25s. YES, I did it under 4 hours!

Post Race
Created some drama after I crossed the finish line. Think I over-swing my arms for the last 100m and strained my left shoulder -- so pain that I stopped in the middle of the lane! The marshalls came up and asked me whether I was OK and I told them my left shoulder hurts. They helped me to the stretcher area and asked me to sit down -- a cameraman even came and took pic of my agony! The medic guys came over and asked me to move to the medic tent acrossed the road -- HAR, how to get up when I am in PAIN?!! Took 2 guys to lift me off the ground without worsening the pain. tktan, who finished 3min earlier then me, was shocked to see me at the stretcher area and rushed over to check whether I was OK. As I was blocking the lane for the kids dash, the medic guys tried to move me to the medical tent but I cun move. tktan asked the guys to put me on stretcher but I declined coz it would be difficult to get up later. So they moved me to the side and tktan juz hold & support me while the pain spreaded down to my ribcage. We stood there for a looong while till the pain subsided -- luckily tktan's camelbak still had some Pocari Sweat left and I gulped down thankfully! When I was able to finally move, we walked over to return the timing chip and collect our medal and finisher's T-shirt -- haa haa, it felt funny walking like duck. While doing our warm down at a corner, saw the sub4 pacers and went over to chat with David. Yah, he said he was running faster than 5:30min/km pace initially and had to slow down to a relax pace for the 2nd half :) We crossed over to the food & drink tent and grab a banana, water n 100plus. Chatted with ronnie(suffered cramps) and loneshark (lost his powergels becoz his plastic bag broke) before moving to the Cenopath for SgRunners Group Photo. Along the way, met RR -- he suffered from serious cramps at 38km mark! A group of SgRunners had gathered there. Still had some time to spare, we went over to the bag deposit area to collect our barang. Quickly called my friend CY -- she and YL were cheering for me @ the Esplanade underpass but I told them to be there ard 10-10.30am. Ehm, they missed me as I unexpectedly finished before 10am :)

Photo & Makan Session
Glad to see many happy faces of SgRunners @ Cenopath when we took the group pic in the rain -- all completed the race with good timing, especially BR, fennel and George for their maiden marathon! George, fennel, tktan and me head over to Suntec for recovery swim and shower -- wow, the cold water did wonder to sooth the sore muscles! Then we rewarded ourselves with a Yuletide Food feast. George had appetizer(Marinated Norwegian Salmon with Mirepoix, Fresh Herbs and Pink Peppercorn) & main course(Shepherd’s Pie Minced Lamb Stew with Mashed Potato Topping), fennel had appetizer(Yuletide Seafood Terrine served with Winter Greens and Honey Lemon Sauce) and main course(Turkey Cordon Bleu Escalope of Turkey with Ham and Cheese accompanied by Winter Vegetables and Roast Potatoes) and tktan had salmon for appetizer and main course(Honey Glazed Boneless Gammon Hamwith Cinnamon Pineapple Sauce and Mashed Potatoes) -- they had Harvest Pumpkin Soup topped with Sour Cream and Nutmeg to go with the food. I had appetizer(Avocado and Crabmeat Quiche served with Mesclun tossed in House Vinaigrette), ham for main course and dessert(Chocolate Royaltine drizzled with Winter Berry Coulis). Oh, not forgeting my ice cold beer -- cheers with Hoegarden! Good times over and I had to head back to office :( Thought I could sneak out, joined the celebration @ Brewerkz and returned to office -- haiz, had to work till 8.30pm! Well, fear not as the celebration will continue for the rest of the week :)



P.S. For 6 years, told myself that I will NOT run another Singapore marathon(HOT & HUMID) becoz it is IMPOSSIBLE to break my best marathon timing of 4h 40min @ Silicon Valley Marathon, California(COOL & SUNNY). After my passion for running was re-ignited when I met so many crazy and die-hard SgRunners, decided to give it a try and set my target of 4h 30min -- but mentally I was prepared to withdraw from the race if my left knee condition worsen. With tips on training, nutrition and gears from the ever-helpful SgRunners, started to train hard to achieve my target. Met many like-minded runners and training became fun and not so "torturing" -- as we encouraged & spurred one another and of course, not forgetting the makan sessions to reward ourselves :) It was heartening to see improvement as D-day drawed nearer and disheartening (at times) when pain/injury hindered the progress. But our running kakis were always there to share the joy and sorrow :)

Now that D-day is over, I can safely say that the IMPOSSIBLE has happened -- blessed with perfectly cool weather, good body condition and surrounded by wonderful & supportive friends & strangers! Till this very moment, am still amazed and unbelievable that I reach my ULTIMATE goal of sub4! A great marathon experience to remember and I enjoyed every second of it!

Distance : 42.195km
Time : 3h58min
Avg pace : 5:39min/km