Time is Flying...

Third time's not a charm. Not only did I not do a PB 10 days ago for the 42, i was 3 minute slower than what i clocked last year.

But it wasn't an entirely disappointing race as i reached a new threshold of 35km, still feeling fresh and keeping pace. Training picked up well, (but still insufficient in my terms) and i've been running 20kms regularly. Experience also played a part as i was not bothered much about discomfort, blisters and hydration.

I managed to keep time til the 37km mark until the heat and humidity got the better of me and i was walking up the unsheltered and uncompromising ECP next to MBS. Saw many dropping out at the sides during this time and there was very little mental encouragement at that point of time.

I'm also very thankful that the knees held up. With both my knees and ankles taped up, there was surprisingly no ache. Well, at least not until the past 3 days when i've started running again!

All in all, the race went well and i know i've said that this could be my last. But how could i go out with timings slumping with each passing year? Even my triathlon hero, Chris McCormack proved that point. He came back to from 2007 to win the World Ironman Triathlon title in October.

It's a fantastic year for me with many memorable races. Going to end the year off with a bang! Looking forward to a couple of trips and then it's going to be a new year with a great new team, growing new friendships, maturing with the old ones and finding her!

At the meantime, i'll just keep running and chasing that lovely dream!

Back from the Dead

Yes, i did drag my lazy ass out of bed to run my third marathon. In summary, i did 5:25 in 2008, 5:55 in 2009 and 5:56 in 2010.

I'm not too disappointed though. I managed to run at a good pace til 35km when i started the run/walk cycle. Glad that most of my training paid off, but there's still so much to be desired to get my body more prepared for a longer race.

I shall give my customary race report in time to come. For now, i'm just glad to be back from the dead. Fell really ill on Monday evening and took the next couple of days to fully recover. So yes, i'm back!

And i can't wait to get to running again!

*
I see some photos of friends who ran on Sunday.. whether it's the 10, 21 or 42.. i feel inspired by each and every one of them.

The person who ran the 10, now feels inspired to run the 21. The person who overcame the odds and did the 21. The person who completed his goodness-knows how many gazillionth 42. Each and every one of them had an inspiration to run and i can't help but be inspired by these ordinary people with an 'ordinary' reason to do something extraordinary.

Thank you for your inspiration.

grumpy...

3 days to to race day and i've finally gotten down to planning the logistics. It sucks.

Consider the fact that you'll not only be on your feet for the next 5hours, you'll be running. And in my case, with a really bad knee. So you'll definitely want to plan well and get to the race and home safely, easily and in one piece.

It's going to be a challenge this year.

I'm not spoilt, i have done the marathon all by myself, without any support, before. But the biggest curveball here is that the start and finish line aren't at the same place. Let me lay it out for you.

Driving there? It won't help much because start and end are at different locations. Yes, there are shuttle buses to get you back to the start but with 2,000+ runners? Good luck with waiting.

I drove last year and at least i could dump my belongings in the car and just carry the carkeys. Since i'm not driving, where am i to put my barang barang? There are bag collection points. But once again, consider the crowds. Plus, the fact that the 42km baggage collection point will be at the F1 building; quite a distance from the finish line.

All that, and the fact that you just completed 42km?

Oh gawd... i might as well crawl my way home.

[ok, that was a really grumpy post. but don't worry, the writer is fine. He is looking forward to a long overdue break from work/technology; spending the final weeks of 2010 travelling!]