The whole day of Saturday I was drinking water in hopes of maximising the water stored by my body. Unfortunately I do not have two humps on my back and went to the toilet more than 10 times throughout the course of the day. Nearer to race time I ate some bananas and started on the 100 plus.
Longqiang drove me down to Changi Village, which was near the starting point. There was a Massive jam and we nearly couldn't find a space to park. Longqiang decided to park illegally by the roadside in a small alley. We joked that the motivation would be to complete faster so we wouldn't kena summon. Haha. So we found ourselves at the starting point just 10 minutes before the start of the race and there were tons of people who were there as well. The emcee was lively and there was very loud music playing. The range of participants were astonnishing - seasoned runners, first-time runners, uncles and aunties, ah pehs and ahmas, kids and youths, and not forgetting the army boys of course.
Barely after some simple stretches, the countdown was on and off we went! Most of the crowd sprinted off with great speed and enthusiasm, as was expected. I decided to start off walking, as my muscles were still cold and stiff, and there was no space for me to run in front anyway. No point squeezing with the rest for precious oxygen. The first stretch is called The String of Lights. It was a long long straight road with street lights lighting up the way. Changi Airport was just beside as well. Not long into the race, I felt a poke from behind - it turned out to be Xianyao, lol. We skipped the first water point as there was too many people waiting for the water.
After 5km of brisk-walking, I was more warmed up and started jogging with Longqiang. Soon we entered the east coast park stretch. At the 12km mark Longqiang was showing signs of fatique and I had to pangseh him soon after. Still going great at this point, I could hear the waves, the cheering, and the cool breeze. Lots of curious onlookers in the park as well, and some even made the effort to cheer us on. About 19km there was a U-turn in east coast park. Soon I reached the half way point - the 21km mark. I was soaked thoroughly in sweat and feeling good. I didn't feel tired, wasn't even panting, although the muscles were starting to feel sore. Not to mention feeling a little lonely, as there was no one to talk to.
As I soon found out, the challenge was not the first 21km, it was the second half. Upon turning left after the 21km, there it was, tall and menacing. It was a pedestrian bridge. The bridge had sloping inclines instead of steps, and I trudged up the bridge, with a steady pace, overtaking the rest who had resigned themselves to walking the bridge.
More water and 100 plus along the way and past Bedok Jetty and out of the park. Ran past VJC and met Jiawah just after that stretch. We grabbed some drinks and I continued running because I felt a cramp coming. I lost Jiawah since then. As the name Heartland Twist suggests, this part of the route runs through the Siglap Park Connector, HDBs and past Eunos and Kembangan MRT. This felt like the longest part of the route, for we seem to run past long canals and yet the mileage attained was so little. Now the horror. More bridges! After the agonsingly long run, there was still more bridges to conquer. Within the short distance of 5km, there were 2 bridges. One was inclined but the other was with steps. By about 26km, whatever energy we had stored was probably depleted. Luckily the aid station in front was giving out drinks and PowerGels. I got an Orange-flavoured PowerGel, and despite the multitude of horrible reviews given to PowerGels, I found the taste bearable and not as bad as claimed by many. Certainly not appetising, but the energy it provided saw me through most parts of the remaining leg of the race. Shortly after, at about 27-28km, we were given bananas! Grabbed a few bites and continued on.
Exiting the Heartland Twist, I set upon the Waterfront Trail, still running alongside the cute girl who was setting the pace. Nothing eventful for this part, we ran past Bedok Reservoir and mostly on sand and grass. All that could be heard was the steady breathing, the rhythmic foosteps pounding. Thud, thud, thud, thud, went our footsteps and although my feet was sore, the beat of the steps kept me going. Another bridge! That's 4 bridges already! Everyone was like cursing and swearing upon seeing the bridge. Nothing else we could do except to keep going. I lost the girl at about 35km, after running with her about 10km. I had jogged about 30km without realising it myself.
The last part, called the Homerun, was the most excruciating part of the race. By this time my body felt like falling apart, my joints,muscles and soles were screaming out for me to stop and my body went numb. I could no longer keep up the running. Past Pasir Ris MRT and exiting the Waterfront Trail, I went into Pasir Ris Drive. It was so painful, every step sent shock through your body. I saw Andrew catching up with me and pull ahead. I managed some jogging, hopping along and walking in between throughout. 37km already and I had no plans of giving up. If I had to I would crawl to the finish line. By now, it was mind over body.
Nearing the last few kilometres, I had the feeling of being cheated. LOL. Shouts of "You're almost there!" or "Less than 1klick only, keep running!" or "You can do it, almost finishing!" kept me going. In reality there was still quite some distance to go. It was uphill and curving in and out, turning left and right. By now the pain had reached quite a high and I thought if I continued on I would almost certainly injure myself. Reaching the Changi Village Bus Terminal, I thought the finishing was just ahead and I just needed to cross the bridge. Imagine my sian-ness when I saw a helper flashing the sign "Finishers turn right". That was at least another 600m to 800m of detour. Nonetheless I limped and ran on. I could hear the music and cheers getting louder. The lights were dazzling and I picked up speed. Numbing myself to the pain, I got into a sprint and overtook as many as I could. Finally I saw the Finishing Line and the big gateway was within reach. I sprinted past the finishing line and yes! I had done it. The race was over and I had survived. I turned my head and was surprised to see the time at 5 hours and 40 minutes. Despite the inadequate preparation, I had completed within the target I set.
I found myself a spot to wait for Longqiang and spotted among others Jiawah, Jianming, Terence, Yongzen and Mervyn completing. Indeed lots of crazy people.
All in all, it was a fun race, albeit a challenging one. Big thanks to Longqiang who drove me down, thanks to the volunteers at the aid stations and turning points, thanks to the cute girl who paced me, thanks to the fellow competitors who cheered me on, thanks to support from dearest friends, thanks to the police officers who directed traffic for us, thanks to the various non-official volunteers from along the way, thanks to the beauties who participated in the race and of course thanks to the organisers. I couldn't have done it without everyone of you.
*Edit(1/6/09 7.27pm) : The official results are out.
Total time --> 5:40:09.94
0-10km ----->1:24:40.12
10-20km ---->1:21:20.62
20-30km ---->1:00:01.78
30-42km ---->1:54:07.42
The first 10km took some time due to the 5km of walking after starting. The 10km-20km portion was because I was just getting into a slow jog. 20km-30km was mostly together with the girl whom I paced, hence the faster timing. The last stretch took almost twice as long despite the distance being 12km, evident that I done most of the walking here.
Not too bad, I reckon I could cut down my timing by another 30minutes with adequate training. Till the next sundown then!
Note to all: Marathons should be attempted with adequate training(Unless you want to suffer like me).
