just wanna share with you my first marathon... sorry ah... a bit long-winded... you can go to the end for the race summary if it starts getting boring...
Special thanks to my wife for her support, allowing me to indulge in this new hobby... also thanks to my brother and Archer for all the tips, advices and support to prepare me for this race...
Saturday 14 May 2011:
Felt a bit nervous and at the same time excited... Nervous because I am still carrying my 2 knee injuries and am well aware that I have not had the best training leading up to this marathon... Excited because it is my virgin marathon and also am doing in on the Great Ocean Road...
I had booked a night in YHA Lorne so that I do not have to travel almost 2hrs early in the morning to the start line... said goodbye to my lovely wife and headed towards Lorne in the late evening with my packet of fried rice + half of Lena's portion... carb loading lah...
Arrived in Lorne and checked in to the hostel... very basic but what I need was just a place to sleep... finished my dinner and was munching potato chips while reading "Born to Run"... trying to get insprition for tomorrow's run... the reading helped to get me sleepy and I went to bed around 10pm...
weather forecast for tomorrow, cloudy with low of 10 and high of 15... brrrrrr....
Sunday 15 May 2011:
woke up at 5.30am... race starts at 8am and I have ample time to do the usual pre-race routine (eat, crap, drink, lube)... as I can still feel the knees urging me to stay in bed, I have decided to pop 2 voltaren tablets to keep them quiet... stepped outside to test the coldness... not too bad... will wear much clothing as possible until the excess clothing check-in closed...
checked out of the hostel at 7am and headed towards the starting line... reached starting line at 7.10am... trying to observe other people and also see if there's anyone that I know... there are around 790 participants and the organiser introduced and interviewed a guy dressed in superman's coustume, and also Singapore's very own marathon man, Mohan... at the front, there was about 4 Kenyans... I don't think I will compete with them (as if I have any chance in the world)... wanted to see catch a conversation with Mohan but I can't be bothered to work through the crowd...
popped a gel, drank up half bottle of Gatorade and checked in the excess clothing at 7.45am... did a quick run to the toilet to release excess water before start... just stayed in the middle of the crowd and try to get some warmth before the start...
My target is to complete in 5hours, but deep inside, I knew I will struggle to do it because of my knees… hence, I am mentally prepared to just finish the race, and if I come in at 5hrs, it will be a bonus… I printed the below timing to help me keep track of my pace…
Dist
|
Pace
|
Time
|
Overall
|
5KM
|
07:00
|
35:00
|
0:35:00
|
10KM
|
06:55
|
34:35
|
1:09:35
|
15KM
|
06:50
|
34:10
|
1:43:45
|
20KM
|
06:45
|
33:45
|
2:17:30
|
25KM
|
06:40
|
33:20
|
2:50:50
|
30KM
|
06:35
|
32:55
|
3:23:45
|
35KM
|
06:30
|
32:30
|
3:56:15
|
40KM
|
06:25
|
32:05
|
4:28:20
|
45KM
|
06:20
|
31:40
|
5:00:00
|
8am... here we go!!! the sea of people starts to spread as we run along… the atmosphere was great and people are smiling and chatty… trying to pick “pacers” and have to change from time to time… quite fun… I can also hear Mohan's whistle encouraging people...
First drink station at 5.1km in sight… 33mins… cool… under pace… very happy… not struggling at all… unwrapped a powerbar and started chewing … I have never had them before and got a shock… damn it was hard… just managed bit off 1/5 of the powerbar on the run… took some water to wash it down and continue with the journey… beautiful scenery and perfect weather…
1hr 5mins hmmm… if my pace is ok, I should be nearing the next drink station, which is located at the (9.9KM mark… decided to pop a gel… true enough, saw the drink station round the corner shortly after… fantastic… reached the station at 1hr 7mins… not bad, still within pace… refilled my water bottle and chew off another 1/5 of the powerbar…. I still can see a string of people in front of me…
Was travelling along the winding road and listen to people talking about their life story and all… very interesting… before I knew it, I can see the 15.1km drink station appearing from the other side of the curve road… 1hr 42min… “not bad” I said to myself… still within pace… pop another gel and pull out the remaining 3/5 of powerbar and continue chewing… topped up my water bottle and continue with the journey... From here on, I think that the voltaren was wearing off and my knees are beginning to wake up… however, I maintain my faith that they will see me through…
The sea of people has now become lesser and lesser… oh, there was no more pacer for me to pick on and I was pacing myself since the last drink station… “di di… di di… di di…” That was my watch alarm notifying me that I am now on the Great Ocean Road for 2hrs and 10mins… hmm… next drink station is about 7mins away… decided to take a gel from my pocket and ready to pop in 5mins or when I see the 20.2km drink station…
2hr 16min… drink station in sight… popped the gel and refill water… left the station at 2hr 18min… very happy with the timing and energy level… heard that the famous wall will come charging around 35km… hence decided to finish up the remaining powerbar and drink up…
the problem with my knee is that I can power through upslope with no problem, but it is the downhill that kills me… I was overtaking people going uphill and I saw their surprised looks… they couldn’t believe it that someone is actually overtaking them up the slopes at this point of the race… but as I pass them, I told them not to worry… they will catch up with me on the down slopes… true enough, most of the people I overtook caught up to me at the 25.3km drink station… popped another gel and continued on…
Had a pack of GU chomps with me… this is the first time I taken them… taste really good and unlike the powerbar, it is easy to chew and swallow… then round the 28km mark, disaster struck… my right knee finally gave up on me… each stride feels like needles poking on it... I knew it will come, but I expected it to come later in the race… decided to pop another gel to see if it can help me push through the pain… started power walking and stretch the muscles towards the 30.6km station…
Made it to the 30.6km station at 3hr 40min… damned… fallen behind my pace for the first time… kind of expected as I was limping for the last 3km through the undulating and winding road… “thought to myself, 15km more to go… you can do it!!!”… filled up and headed towards in searching for the wall… 5mins after the 30.6km drink station, another disaster… my strapped up left knee, did not want to carry my right knee anymore and decided to call it quits… I now have to deal with a needle poking right knee and a painful left knee tendon.. this spells the end of my 5hr target… from here on, I have decided to walk and see if my trusty knees will come back to me… More and more people overtook me from here on…
About 2km from the 35.2km station, I felt irritation in my left armpit… damned, I thought I had vase enough already… how come it still got abrasion??? Quite pissed off… thinking to myself “Don’t tell me I have to keep my left arm still to avoid further damage for the lat 13km”… was not feeling good at all, physically and mentally… keep thinking that I should have carry vase with me… or if other runners past me, I will ask if they have any…
Nearing the 35.2km station…decided to pop another gel… this should be the last one because I am not burning as much as energy as I should and I think I will miss the wall… however, left armpit began to worry me… Struggled to 35.2km station… guess what I saw on the drink table… V-A-S-E-L-I-N-E… I cannot believe my eyes!!! It is like liquid gold to me!!! took a dip and spread it onto the affected and surrounding area… ok a bit gross, but I tell you… suddenly morale up… to have this small win really bring my spirit up and I am ready for the final 10km… by the time I left the station, it is already 4hr 30min…
On the way to the 39.7km station, there was a stretch of road where I can see 1km ahead of me… no one was in front of me… I looked back, no one was behind me… I shouted: “I am the King of the world!!!”… imagine that they close great ocean road just for me to walk… how cool is that!!!
Reached 39.7km station around 5hr mark… was now receiving a lot of encouragement from a few marshals and people at the drink station (think they want to go home liao…)… someone shouted: “only 2km to the marathon timing…” yes… finally… I am almost there… by this time, 2 people had caught up with me… a 60+ yr old women, who is still running at her own pace… had a chat with her… she said that she will not be able to continue if she stop running… I said “good on ya” and she slowly pulled away from me… shortly after, a 20+ yr old lady caught up to me… she was struggling and I can see the pain in her face… her friend had came from the finishing line and was giving her encouragement (in latin I think, she had a tee shirt with Bolivia on it and I cannot understand their language) to get through the last few km… I followed behind them and was absorbing the encouragement from the friend as if it was for me... who knows, maybe she was saying:” look at this man… he is weak… you can overtake him…” About 2km to the marathon mark, I felt that she was dragging me down... I decided to pick up my pace and overtook her and power through to the end… passed the marathon timing at 5hr 22min 33s…
3 more km to go… should I power on to the end? No, I told myself, I have GC in July and I should now just make it through to the finishing line so as to not aggravate my injury more… by this time, they have opened 1 lane to let vehicles through… along the way, received words of support and encouragement from cars and onlookers… felt very emotional and had tears rolling down my cheek… luckily I am wearing a pair of shades to help hide the tears… took bloody 33mins for the last 3km… passed the finishing line in 5hr 55min 13s…
My race summary:
Preparation: Could have done better if not for my knees… anyway, lesson learnt my lesson to not push too hard too fast...
Weather: near perfect... cloudy and no wind...
Course: Great Ocean Road, enough said...
Timing: very happy as this is my PB... hahahaha...
Result: although not the last one to cross the finish line, I think I finished last in my category… that said, using Arch's words: Finishing Last > DNF > DNS…
Looking forward to Gold Coast...
"A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you’ve done it, you feel that you can do anything." - Unknown
