Life's Moments: 2011 Marathon: A slice of good weather

Torture, insanity, challenge, adrenaline, life long dream. The many words one uses to describe endurance racing. For me this year, it was all of the above. Having completed the full marathon in 2009, the half marathon which Wenhui signed me up for felt much less daunting back in may or July . Training, if any, could be limited to maybe 8 or 10 km, and one can complete the half marathon with relative ease. Training went upwards to 12km on occasion, starting from my house along the canal all the way to the formula 1 pit building and back.

Challenges: 3 weeks before the race, I was away feasting roast goose in Hong Kong followed by a week of 16 hr days at Sitex. A bout a fever, body ache ensured and it was the "week of rain" , endless precipitation lasting days in a stretch, limiting my only 6km run just a day before the marathon . Everything didn't quite fall into place but it was GO time! Race start at 630am at Sentosa. Packed MRT which ran all night helped to move hoards of people around. Fueling on bananas and water, it was race go with Wenhui and good pal Loke Yuen at the start line. Run keeper checked and it was go! Roads were cramped and got into a bottleneck at the dolphin lagoon, the organisers are sure to get a ton of complains! Pace dropped dramatically here and I was all wet by the 5th click, hydration was an issue and I could not keep water down and felt congested. It was a long run through Sentosa, with the final leg through literally through the entire Universal Studios Singapre and the icons were out in force to cheer the runners! Definitely a highlight of the race. By the time we got out of Sentosa, my runkeeper clocked 12km at 1:15, but the road marker was at only 10km!! Was I zig zagging too much ?? And this was also when the run keeper stopped, unknowingly I might have stopped it. It was a struggle from then on, getting water into the system and a half powergel to keep hunger pangs away. Slopes up keppel viaduct and Ayer rajah expressway didn't help . The right inner hip starts to hurt, many runners had pitstops along the sides for deep heat treatment. I didn't see such need for deep heat as my limiting factors were the lungs and water intake. The trodding began ernest at the top of the benjamin sheares bridge, as I ran up the 500m slope, and was left within nothing in tank for the final 3km push. Time for mind over body ? Not so when the body wants to protest against the constant pounding and it was an ungainly stupor to the finish. Adding insult to a beaten mind and body, the kids dash started in tandem with my final click and they looked like thorough-breds fresh out of the gates! The finish was unpleasant with a ton of mud and a million other smelly runners. Wenhui took another hour to make to home, while making a visit to the medical tent due to dehydration. The medical tent was a luxury, with free flow of drinks, fans and widely spaced chairs!

Overall a pleasant experience. Will I sign up next year for the half or full marathon? I need a good shower, lunch and forty thousand winks before any thoughts of 2012 come in!