Monday, December 08, 2008
An INTERNATIONAL Marathoner, No Less
So yes, I did run the Singapore Marathon Sunday. Finished it, too.
My time was 4:55:17, almost 19 minutes slower than the Marine Corps Marathon. However, given all that's happened in the 6 weeks since my last marathon -- moving to a new country, starting a new job, trying to find a place to run -- I'm just happy that I finished. Hey, I'm just happy that I started! I still came in 2,659 out of 12,393, so 79th percentile. Not too shabby. The heat was a real issue, but perhaps it didn't give the locals THAT much of an advantage, even though they're used to it.
The race started at 5:30am, which gave us about an hour and a half before the sun came up. There were no clocks along the way so I had no idea what my pace was. The course was flat and the streets were usually wide enough, so overall a good course. We started out running east and I was able to put the sun to my back soon after it rose, so that helped. The drink stations every mile were pretty helpful as well. I started feeling like I was overhydrating and was feeling a little heavy in my stomach, so I started watering only every other station. I think that might have been a bad idea, and perhaps the problem was not overhydrating, but overheating. Lesson learned about marathoning in the tropics.
Oddly enough, I ran faster in the second ten kilometers than in the first ten (and yes, they measure in kilometers here, so I ran 42.195km). Never ran at my MCM pace, though. Of course, I ran the first 18 miles of MCM with Ethan and this one was on my own. I really dropped off in the final 8 kilometers, actually had to walk for about 1 - 1.5km (run, walk, run...). Lower back was bothering me big time, and I think the heat was starting to get to me (tingling hands, mild stomach cramps...not good). Once I hit the 42km sign I ran it in for a nice finish but my back was hurting so much after crossing the line that I made my way over to a barrier and leaned against it. 3 lady medical volunteers came out of nowhere and had me sit down, straighten my legs (but offered no water, go figure), and I think they were all set to do something to my legs until I said the problem was my lower back and they all stepped away...not gonna touch that, I guess. I made it into the finish area, turned in my timing chip and got my finisher's shirt and medal, then wandered around looking for something to drink. Ended up sitting down at a volunteer table with tingling, dizziness, slightly swollen tongue making it difficult to speak (not that that stopped me from talking!!). Waited there about 20 minutes with some water until the blue spots in front of my eyes went away, then it was all good. Beware the heat in Singapore...it is not for the weak.
Weirdest thing was: no crowd. I mean, NO ONE. You know how one big advantage of the race over training is the energy you draw from the spectators? There was none of that here, except the final .195km. Probably had something to do with the early start, but even later, nothing. There were a couple secondary school drum corps, a few cheerleaders, and some family members/friends, but even some of the volunteers working along the route were napping. Nothing like the 100,000 people or so out there watching the MCM. That made it tougher for me, I think, because I know what a crowd can do for you and was kind of expecting it.
After the race, when I was waiting for the blue spots to go away, I got to talking to a lady next to me who is 53 and just ran her first half-marathon. Yay her! Anyway, her son is in New York and is thinking of coming home to study at the school where I'm teaching. Also, he's currently doing a job I think I might find interesting. So, we traded e-mail addresses and we're going to exchange helpful hints. Small world.
And yes, in case you're wondering...I have decided I enjoy running marathons in Asian countries. I'll leave it to the reader to figure out why. :P
My time was 4:55:17, almost 19 minutes slower than the Marine Corps Marathon. However, given all that's happened in the 6 weeks since my last marathon -- moving to a new country, starting a new job, trying to find a place to run -- I'm just happy that I finished. Hey, I'm just happy that I started! I still came in 2,659 out of 12,393, so 79th percentile. Not too shabby. The heat was a real issue, but perhaps it didn't give the locals THAT much of an advantage, even though they're used to it.The race started at 5:30am, which gave us about an hour and a half before the sun came up. There were no clocks along the way so I had no idea what my pace was. The course was flat and the streets were usually wide enough, so overall a good course. We started out running east and I was able to put the sun to my back soon after it rose, so that helped. The drink stations every mile were pretty helpful as well. I started feeling like I was overhydrating and was feeling a little heavy in my stomach, so I started watering only every other station. I think that might have been a bad idea, and perhaps the problem was not overhydrating, but overheating. Lesson learned about marathoning in the tropics.
Oddly enough, I ran faster in the second ten kilometers than in the first ten (and yes, they measure in kilometers here, so I ran 42.195km). Never ran at my MCM pace, though. Of course, I ran the first 18 miles of MCM with Ethan and this one was on my own. I really dropped off in the final 8 kilometers, actually had to walk for about 1 - 1.5km (run, walk, run...). Lower back was bothering me big time, and I think the heat was starting to get to me (tingling hands, mild stomach cramps...not good). Once I hit the 42km sign I ran it in for a nice finish but my back was hurting so much after crossing the line that I made my way over to a barrier and leaned against it. 3 lady medical volunteers came out of nowhere and had me sit down, straighten my legs (but offered no water, go figure), and I think they were all set to do something to my legs until I said the problem was my lower back and they all stepped away...not gonna touch that, I guess. I made it into the finish area, turned in my timing chip and got my finisher's shirt and medal, then wandered around looking for something to drink. Ended up sitting down at a volunteer table with tingling, dizziness, slightly swollen tongue making it difficult to speak (not that that stopped me from talking!!). Waited there about 20 minutes with some water until the blue spots in front of my eyes went away, then it was all good. Beware the heat in Singapore...it is not for the weak.
Weirdest thing was: no crowd. I mean, NO ONE. You know how one big advantage of the race over training is the energy you draw from the spectators? There was none of that here, except the final .195km. Probably had something to do with the early start, but even later, nothing. There were a couple secondary school drum corps, a few cheerleaders, and some family members/friends, but even some of the volunteers working along the route were napping. Nothing like the 100,000 people or so out there watching the MCM. That made it tougher for me, I think, because I know what a crowd can do for you and was kind of expecting it.
After the race, when I was waiting for the blue spots to go away, I got to talking to a lady next to me who is 53 and just ran her first half-marathon. Yay her! Anyway, her son is in New York and is thinking of coming home to study at the school where I'm teaching. Also, he's currently doing a job I think I might find interesting. So, we traded e-mail addresses and we're going to exchange helpful hints. Small world.
And yes, in case you're wondering...I have decided I enjoy running marathons in Asian countries. I'll leave it to the reader to figure out why. :P
Labels: Living in SG, Running
