Post 42.195KM
Managed to only fall asleep close to 12mn the night before, started to worry about the race..we gathered at cenotaph where everyone started slapping tiger blam cream onto their thighs, quads & calves..as usual we were snapping photos away n thnks to zxl,our mobile runspirator, for waking up at an unearthly hour to take photos for us.
There were so many marathon runners this year, 9000 with 20% female? felt good for first 19km, run non-stop (first time for me :o) spotted my dear little cousin helping out at 1st drinkpt@3km. I used to be able to spot frens alg the route, but this time i didn't manage to cos there are simply too many runners.somewhere just before 10km marker, the blind african runner with his pacer passed by & the whole stretch of the runners just cheered & cheered til my goosebumps stand...simply INSPIRING,...then saw spiderman & catwoman, an old japanese wearing jap fisherman costume with hat, a mother pushing her baby in the sports pram (21km), the lady who was dragging the tyre with the recycling message.
At the 14km mark, i was so looking forward to reach the 1st pitstop at Nicoll Highway & saw Weili along the way. I was amazed by the D's frens, Super & SMS who was jumping with enthusiasm when they spotted me "EL! EL!'Lai le, lai le!' Then saw a swollen-eye & nasal voice Ms P, who stil came down despite recovering frm flu. so touched so touched!! after stretching & seeing cj, lulu & von all(& we saw Goh CC) reached 1st pitstop, we took off...
Then it's all downhill for me :( shortly, i see CJ pulling ahead, i waved to ask her go ahead w/o me..then sudden cramp at my left hamstring at 19km, so after stretching i continued to push myself.....i struggled, limiting my walks to 1 min each 3km, then to 1km....i was sooo glad to reach pitstop 2 & stunned to see an injured Mdm Chua lying on the mat with a ice pack on her foot!! poor gal, so Sharon Ang took over and sprinted off with her tag, how i wish someone can do a relay marathon with me too,haha.Yet again, our runspirators are wonderful..cj's sis sandra took photos & open drinks for us...i only rem repeatedly telling mdm chua 'wo hen xin ku'...
Slowing down my pace, i regulated my breathing & kept my posture and just put one foot after anther in front, listening to my music.trying to distract myself from the sharp pain in my knee..pushing km after km til i reached the 3rd pitstop (30km) - 4hrs, i swallowed my gel & H-Two-O, barely had the strength to go on...sandra helped us to sprayed deep heat at our sore muscles, and other runners accumulated at our pitstop requesting for deep heat spray too...it had started drizzling by then, the cool weather was now wet...despite the 'good' weather conditions, my form just wasn't there...i shouldered on,mountbatten stretch was endless... hamstring start cramping again, stop & stretch...had to maintain same speed for Sub5. tried to lengthen my strides but knee pain was tremendous, afraid that my knee will give way.
Reaching the 37km -last pitstop, my heart sanked when din see serene & for a moment, thought she didnt wait...so i slow jogged, upon seeing the bus-stop, i saw her & HF!..so glad, i collapsed onto the bus stop seats. Poor CJ also suffered from cramps...it was 11.15am, 5km within 45mins do-able?...shortly after left bus-stop, my real problem came..my hamstring, calves & shin muscles cramped up all at once...i cant even walk properly. i was clutching the small tube of tiger rub & had to rest at the next bus stop to relieve the cramps in both legs, i was so upset with myself I teared (:p, now i think abt it, v silly hor) Saw Lulu passed by, she din see me...and i slowly hobbled behind CJ & ZXL..After Crawford underpass , Instructor paced & accompanied me (now i can't rem the conversation but we were talking abt the weather i tink), she made the last stretch bearable.
Near the finishing line, i saw the blurry line of familiar faces & out-stretched hands, i can only distinguish OSM's face, dunno y, mebbe she wore red? heard the Emcee say "blah blah... LEL!..blah blah....this grp have a lot of girls' runners..blah blah..." i fnsh the race AT LAST..
p.s THANK YOU ALL RUNSPIRATORS! You wouldnt know how much we appreciated you until you run the race yourself to experience that kind of gratitude we have towards you...
p.s.s I AM REALLY NOT SIGNING UP NEXT YEAR! I still need my knees for the next 30 years...
posted by Ling @ 9:29 pm
1 Comments:
Wow, that was a real experience for you. Hmm, maybe I will consider walking the marathon next time :D Must take good rest now,K?
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