YES, THIS YEAR I RAN 42.195KM AGAINNN :D
my main goal this time, was just to finish it. (again) i kinda understand the limits of my knees so yeah, finishing it is already the ultimate satisfaction. yeah, i do wanna get a better timing, but lemme get my knees checked out first. so, no pictures to seee. hahaha, i was just really focused in completing the race & getting the right mindset throughout the race. i ain't gonna be like those people taking photos with the distance markers -.-
i'm glad that i have nicholas running with me throughout the race, AGAIN. dude, i'm really sorry i pangseh-ed you sometimes along the way, but once i got the momentum to run & overtake people, i really cannot stop. but not bad, you can catch up to me when i started walking. so, the day began with my dad sending steph & i to orchard (starting point). we were there like an hour early & i could use the time to calm my nerves. you couldn't believe how frantic i was the night before.
sadly, steph & i had to be separated cause her bib was of a different colour. so i was in the last wave & thank God i had nicholas & weidi to run with meeee. but weidi kinda took the shortcut at around 16km. anyway, met wenhui & weijie at the starting point.
so the beginning of my 42.195km began with a steady speed. lots of sights & SMELLS. seriously, i did not expect a smorgasbord of smells. first it was pee smell. yes, pee. only 2km into the race, there was this canal, & all the guys pee there. yuckkkk. next was the rubbish smell, that was the chinatown-telok ayer st area. & when i got to east coast, i thought i will be able to breathe & feel sea breeze, boy was i wrong. it was BO ttm -.- HELPPP, i did not pay $$$ to smell all thatttt!
i felt quite proud of myself. in like 2hours i had hit the 20km mark. but my knees were already acting up around 11km )): i told nicholas we'll only start walking at 20km. we lost weidi around 16km i think. i was already very satisfied with myself when i hit 20km, 2HOURS!!! we then walked for 4km & then ran the next 4km, by which i lost nicholas. started walking again at 28km cause my knees couldn't take it. that's where i bumped into eugene again & ran with him for awhile & started walking again & that's where i bumped into russell & we started walking. seriously, i'm super pleased with myself this year. last year, i died at around 16-19km & took forever to exit east coast. around 28km, like this year, i was with the crowd & there were still people the other side! hahaha, last year i was sooo slow that i couldn't even get the energy gel & bananas. this year, nicholas & i managed to get 4??? & 3 bananas! so, exiting east coast, it was the new route & boy was it insane! the heat was unbearable & there was no friggin' shade! this long ulu road spans a construction site & marina bay golf course & it leads to marina barrage. so, russell nicholas & i decided to run from 31km onwards till like 34km despite the intense sun. i ran ahead & lost the two of them, sorry! but stopped at 33km & started walking cause the sun was just scorching! at least there was no rain (: i could seriously feel like my ears were gonna EXPLODE! REALLY, NO JOKE. at marina barrage, nicholas & russell caught up cause i was walking. i called steph, thinking she probably had finished the race, but noooo, she was only at 37km. turns out she had really bad muscle cramps.
sighh, i seriously would rather have muscle cramps compared to my stupid knees any day. seriously, i never ever get tired, but it's because of my knees, that every step i take is excruciating pain to the whole leg area, it contributes a lot to the fatigue of my run. pay for medical fees anyone? i've yet to figure out what's the hell wrong with my knees.
so, because of the intense heat, i practically walked from 33km all the way till 40km. terrible knees. i was praying really hard to God to pull me through this stretch & i was just walking! terrible knees. we met norman while walking & so he walked with us :D
the last 2km, i was just running on adrenalin & could have just gone ahead of everyone. but no, i wanted everyone to finish & not get left behind. yes, my knees were still bloddy hurting. i pushed the guys, literally. the last part, esplanade bridge, really got to the guys, push push push! hahahaha. i totally wanted to do a jump shot at the finish line, but i totally couldn't! hahahaha, my knees couldn't support me to do a jump at all! ohwell, next year?
i must say again, this year has been a vast improvement compared to last year. 8hours to 6hours. next year 5 hours? 4 hours? hahaha, i guess i have to start training for 42km earlier then. hahaha, i wasn't even supposed to run in the first place but because wesley couldn't so i bought it from him & that was like 2 mths before. imagine what 4 mths of training could do for meee :D for whoever's reading this, i may come across as a really proud/arrogant person, but whatever, i'm just really glad i completed this 42.195km. i really wanted to prove that injuries shouldn't limit a person's abilities.
cheerio! :DD
