HK Marathon (17 Feb 2008)

Sunday Race Day (17 Feb 2008)
Info: 7:45am, 14-16degC, 68-88% humidity

I woke up a couple of times the night - 2:30am, 5:30am, 6:00am - before the alarm went off at 6:45am. Hit the snooze button. I lazily dragged myself out from under the blanket warmth at 6:55am. The flag-off was 7:45am outside our hotel. I peered out of my window to check out the people on Nathan Street below and what they were wearing as a weather gauge. Not too bad, the patrolmen were in jackets but not gloves. Alber and I quickly readied ourselves and made breakfast. I had my usual instant Quaker oatmeal with milo, whilst putting on my race belt and shoes. I chose to wear my tried-and-tested pink Nike long-sleeved top that I used at the USA trail marathon, and teamed it with a Nike 3/4 tights that had a snug-compression feel to it.

We left the room at 7.30am to walk to the start line. Ahh, the perks of staying at the Miramar. We went past the elite warming up zone and saw 2 runners (whom I did not know) wearing white jerseys with Singapore flags. The crowd was slowly forming in the gathering area. Runners were dressed in all sorts of. Some were in sleeveless jerseys and tights/ shorts, some long-sleeved, long pants, windbreakers, gloves and some had plastic ponchos over themselves. According to the weather report, the mean temperature that morning was 14-16degC, with humidity 68-88%. We joined the front pack and started stretching. Suddenly Alber exclaimed that he had forgotten to bring his water bottle. Time check: 7:37am. There was enough time for him to dash to the room and retrieve it. He came back just in time as the crowd was moving forward towards the start line. Within a minute, the horn sounded and the race was flagged off.

The run started slow, but it was less crowded than last year where the beginning point was a bottleneck. This year first 2km took 12:28.8min because of the crowd. Derrick came up from behind us, said hi, and ran off. After 17min, Alber had a slight diarrhea and needed the loo. We split up and ran separately from that point onwards. I paced myself, keeping a check on my breathing, mindful of my last CNY long run with SGRunners where I started out too fast. I sped up a little since my breathing still felt light.

It was one of those mornings where things fell in place. I eased into a nice rhythm, going with the flow of the run. I had no timing expectations today, seeing how dismal my recent long runs were. The weather felt good. At the exposed sections on the bridge, I pulled down my long sleeves. In the enclosed tunnels, I rolled up the sleeves. Similarly, my tights were doing a good job of keeping me cool and warm when appropriate. They also held up my knee joints and kept them warm. I was also wearing my Rakuwa necklace for the first time in a race, not sure how it might help.

10km time check - 58:13min, 5:49min pace. I felt good and encouraged. I seldom clocked sub-1h for 10km, especially not during a marathon. I kept going, wondering when Alber was going to catch up. It would not be easy because I was going faster than my normal pace.

The first turning point was at 15.4km at Tsing Ma Bridge. Shortly after, Alber waved to me on the other side. He was about 1ish km behind me. The sharks were back again! Last year, there was a group of runners dressed as sharks running the full marathon as an anti sharks fin protest. They were strong runners, despite the heavy outfits. This year there were 5 of them - 4 sharks ahead of Alber, and 1 behind him.

21km time check - 2:00:07h, 5:43min pace. Tuning point after Ting Kau Bridge. Very good. I might be able to do get a good timing if I maintained the pace. Saw Alber on the other side again, still running with the sharks. I started my powergel at 20km and still felt strong.

30km time check - 2:51:22h, 5:42min pace. Excellent! That would be my 30km PB as well. My fastest 10km stretch was 21-30km, taking 56:54min at 5:41min pace. Definitely was hopeful about my marathon timing. I wondered if I could break the 4h barrier or come close to it. Not wanting to distract or add pressure to myself, I focused on positive thoughts and my breathing technique while sipping my 2nd powergel.

The sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds, and it began to feel like our normal Sunday runs. According to the course elevation chart by the organizers, the steep climbs were mostly over by now. There were so many tunnels and bridges that I lost count of which one we were running on. At 34km, my pace started to waver and I tried hard to keep it under 6min. I could feel the lactic building up in my calves, slowly but surely. I saw Kumaran somewhere along the way. Was I mistakened? I rubbed my eyes and took a double look. It turned out that he was having a tough time running because of blisters from new shoes. By 36km, I crossed the 6min pace, much to my disappointment. I willed myself not to stop, especially on the remaining slopes, for walking would trigger the cramps immediately. Last year I cramped near the finishing end and had to slow down. From 37.5km - 39.5km, it was a steep climb all the way for 2km. Then a gradual descent to 40km. I took care to place my feet properly and not have sudden shifts in posture or body weight.

40km time check - 3:53:50h; 5:50min pace. Starting to feel painful now. No more chance of getting sub-4h but nonetheless a good effort. Alber overtook me from behind. Great job, he sped up all the way despite 2 toilet breaks and finally caught up with me at 40km. He waved for me to follow him but my legs were quite dying and I was focused on not having cramps. I could not follow his pace and he ran ahead. We turned a corner towards the 41km marker. Horrors! There was yet another slope. At 41km! In all honesty, it was a short stretch, something like 50m of Morse Road, definitely easy on a normal day. But at 41km, it loomed like Titanic. I gritted my teeth, took a deep heave, and up I trotted. Careful now, no cramps.

The public lined the roads along the finishing 1km, cheering and clapping. I spied the finishing timer arch in the distance and tried very hard to open up my last few strides. Finally, I crossed the mat deliriously at 4:08:28h. Alber came in slightly earlier at 4:05:42h - also a PB for him. Well, those were the official timings. But Alber and I started together and his gun and chip timings differed by 50sec, whereas mine were the same. Weird.... Based on my watch too, my timing should be slightly lesser at 4:07:50h. Oh well, nonetheless, it was a sweet moment to savour, my marathon PB! :) I felt good breaking my physical barrier and resume some semblance of running form. If I could achieve this timing, I was sure many of our female Safra runners would do equally well or better in similar runs. It was a run where I did not hold back unnecessarily, and had tried my very best. No regrets, no ifs or buts.