Life of guohui ...chp 333
chapter 333 says another tick off the things guohui wants to do in his lifetime.
yes
I've actually completed a marathon after contemplating to do one since eons ago. and at that a night marathon in sundown marathon 2009. was somewhat disappointed in the organising committee though. for the lack of supports and service they provide throughout the race. i was conned for so many km before i can find counterpain relief. and bananas out of stock? ridiculous. but i had fun though.
gears which i swear by during the whole 42.195km.
getting ready for the marathon.
decided 1.5hrs before the race that i've so not going to drive because my cousin is driving her bf down and she mentioned that the traffic is insane. waited for bus no.29 which was jammed back and ended up cabbing down.
reached the starting point 15mins before the flag off. saw yeowhoe, shaun and boh xiong; some fellow A11 friends whom i decided to pace with. actually i have half a mind to run this race along but was persuaded the start off together with them. but it ended up that me and yeowhoe paced each other throughout though.
it was a good start at 12.20am for us. despite being the last few starters, we managed to catch up with the majority of the people with our constant pace, stopping only at water point. finished the airport runway stretch with ease. no pain, lots of perspiration and still going strong. lost shaun during this stretch due to the orh lua he had.
reached the tanah merah area by 0100hr, still doing real fine, i even met libin on the way, had a little chat before moving on. was abt to lost boh xiong after the 10km after we derailed to find the washroom for him to shit.
by 12km, boh xiong was out, leaving me and yeowhoe to move on. by now, i'm already at my worplace, the stretch of ECP. still going fine. the feets starts to hurt now and i alr have half a mind to find counterpain.
U-turned at big splash by 19km to 20km, the fastest stretch we experienced. counterpain is definitely needed but out of sight till the next km. spurred on despite the premonition that a cramp was coming.
21km mark! stopped for the first time to apply counterpain and do some stretching for 5mins. it was a good 2hr 30mins gone. we are quite in time to complete the race before 0600hr. as yeowhoe mentioned, we've alr reach army standard with respect to AHM. crossed the bridge to VS area and continued on to siglap park connector, from VS to st. pat's and on to kembangan MRT. our pace dropped as route gets narrow. spotted lots of ppl resting along the way, doing stretches alr. there's even a girl crying.
25 to 26km, it seems like the longest stretch to jog. despite us still jogging. cramps starts to creep in on me. my cartilage starts to ache. had my first power gel at the 27km mark. 2nd dosage of counterpain. route to bedok reservoir was demoralizing. there's lots of ppl stopping. the marathon has turned into the big walk instead. also, there are lots of kind souls giving out snacks and drinks, paying from their own pocket.
bedok reservoir stretch is gay. 14km more to go from here. put on my knee guard at this point on, though drenched in my perspiration alr. and on to tampines rd. passed by my house at the 33km mark. the big walk has alr begin and i'm dragging my sorry ass and counting down the distance. the park connector rd which i ran for countless time seems so long to me nw. i starting having fun cursing and swearing at myself for taking part in the marathon. wasting leave, money and precious slping time to torture myself. it's alr 0530hr. seems like we are not able to reach before 0600hr. my joint hurts. my ankles hurts. my feet hurts.
crossed to pasir ris track. we alr start to take regular 2mins break to stretch. counterpain saves my life many times here. i had my 50th cup of 100plus here too. 36km mark proved that i can fall aslp while walking.
after 37km mark at loyang stretch was pretty much a torture. walked only to try to reach the next km signboard. convo starts to decrease alr. fatigue totally set in. counterpain sent me to 7th heaven every time i used it. but i came crashing down to reality when it wears off. excruciating. tried to jog but it never last more than 100me. did i mentioned that i lost feeling of my legs? if there's a feel, the only word is pain.
39km mark, started to countdown to the number of 2.4runs we did. 3 more km to go.sun's up alr. agony sets in everytime a bus heading to changi passed by.
41km was a relief. started to jog towards the finishing pt. last no more than 50metres. every step seems so heavy.
time checked was 0800hrs. we missed our aims by 2hrs. crossed the finished line a very insane man. tt makes us finish at 7hrs 40mins. we started 20mins late.
taken after the race.
courtesy of lam.
i completed my first night marathon! now, tt's a sense of personal achievement.
the rewards.
and a nap at home for reporting for work at 1700hrs. by then, my legs are totally gone. my right ankle was swelling bigger than ever. my thighs are so tighted. damn naim and co asking me to use the handicapped toliet in base.
and i doubt i'll be jogging anytime soon.
but standard chartered marathon, anyone with me?
