My first half marathon
I have finally run my first half marathon at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on Dec 6th 2009.
21km.
More running than I’ve ever done in my life.
And I’m glad to say I have done it 
Prologue
I can’t say I prepared adequately for it, unless you count 6-8 1 hour runs in the last 3 months as preparation. I know I have the stamina for an hour of running in a slow-pokey 7.5km/hour pace, but anything beyond that is unknown to me. Hubby helpfully suggested that as long as I can do half the distance without keeling over, I most probably will be able to drag myself over the finish line.
Even bought myself a pair of new running shoes 2 weeks before the race, because my old running shoes were a bit heavy, and wore once for a proper run before the race. Not advisable, as I’ll explain a little later.
D-Day
Hubby and I woke up at 4.45am, made coffee (for me) and milo (for him), and set off to the race ground, while munching on a granola bar in the car. Reached The Adelphi and was happy that the road leading to the carpark is not closed to traffic (yay!).
Parked our car, took a sip of water, girded our loins and walked to the starting point.
The place was packed with runners, race crew, and even TV crew. We walked to the starting point, which was already fairly packed with people. Feeling a little confident, hubby led us closer to the starting point, saying he doesn’t want to get stuck behind slow runners. Did some stretching exercises, and waited for the starting horn. This was a great time for people watching: the flabby white chicken types, skinny white chicken types, the hulking muscle types, the slim and wiry types, the decked-out-in-performance-bodywear-and-running-belt-with-water-bottle-and-power-gel types, and more. At exactly 6.45am, the half marathon race was flagged off.
The first hour of running was uneventful, and the 10km mark was reached at around 1:10. At each drink station I took a few sips of water and 100Plus, and used the rest of the water to splash on my face. But as I continued running, I found out why it was important to break in a new pair of running shoes BEFORE running a half marathon. My feet started to hurt from the hardness of the shoes and the constant pounding it took from my 130lb frame . At the 11km mark I stopped running and walked.
I usually run with music, either from my (now dead) iPod mini, or my phone. After my iPod died, I decided to run this race with no music. I think it was the right decision. During the race, I constantly saw runners stopping to select music, adjusting their earphones, or tucking the wires out of the way. I just entertained myself with people-watching, reading messages off the back of other runners’ jersey, and the scenery around the race route. It’s not every day that you get to run in the middle of the CBD, you know.
By the 15km, it was a constant run-walk-run-walk-run routine. My feet were hurting enough to stop me from running any faster. The last 5 km was torture. Every drink station was an excuse to stop. Everyone around me was struggling and trying to overcome their own soreness and fatigue. The medics who dispensed heating cream were the most popular, with lots of runners waiting for some cream to soothe their sore body parts.
When the final kilometer beckoned, I decided to swallow the pain and just slowly jog. The supporters by the side of the road were cheering the runners on. Others also started jogging/sprinting the final stretch.
As the finish line appeared, I felt a little shudder going through my body. At the very moment of stamping my foot on the timing mat, I actually breathed a sigh of relief, and a real sense of satisfaction. Imagine, me, always struggling with my weight, with a lack of stamina, and here I am at the finish line of a half marathon!
Finished the race in 2:52.
Epilogue
Collected the finisher’s medal, drinks, and headed to the meeting point. Found hubby sitting on a footpath with shoes kicked off. He finished the race about 10 minutes earlier, and was a little surprised to see me so soon (hehe). Pigged out at McDonalds for our post-race celebration. We were a really odd couple at Funan, dragging our stiff legs around the mall while window shopping.
Finally reached home at 2pm, washed our shoes, ourselves and threw the clothes into the laundry machine.
As we sat on our couch and watched badminton on telly, all sore and stiff, we could see the smile on our faces telling each other, “My darling, the half-marathon runner !”
Tags: half-marathon, SCSM 2009
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