StandChart Singapore Marathon 2009

This is my first overseas race. It was one great experience as the organizer was very efficient. I have nothing to complain except, too many people took part in the race. The journey started on Saturday morning. Three of us, from KL drove to Singapore entering from Tuas CIQ. We headed straight to Singapore Expo to pick up the race kit. It took me only 5 minutes to settle everything. Super quick! Then we went drooling over sports stuff at the expo. I bought a pair of NB running shoes. It was very cheap only $70. All shoes on sales, I almost buy another pair but told myself... don't!

After that we went to Zam Zam Restaurant for Brayani. Joining us for carbo-loading lunch were Kay, Yusran and his 3 other friends living in Singapore. Thanks to his friend for "belanja" us. After lunch we checked-in into our hostel. Then we went to Mustafa before going to Novena. We did shopping... windows shopping! :P Then we went to Geylang Serai for dinner. After dinner we though of going to see Christmas light at Orchard Road was hampered because Kamarul's car overheated and we stuck at Ion Orchard, a new high-end luxury shopping mall. Half of the cars I saw in the parking were luxury cars with single digit including Malaysian cars. About an hour later, we slowly drove the car out of parking bay heading back to hostel. Lucky us, it was smooth journey.

With lack of sleep, we woke up at 3:30am to get ourselves prepare for the race. We gathered with several other runners staying at our hostel and walked to the starting line about 2km away from the hostel. Enough warm-up before the race. Met up with Haza and several other friends.

There were so many people around at Esplanade Drive. Estimated around 14,000 over marathon runners gathered to torture themselves. Yeah, we are crazy people!!! Singapore managed to make it a one big festival compare to KL marathon around with only 2000 runners for marathon distance. The race started at 5:30am and it was live telecast over Star Sport Channel. I met AJ, Arif & Senn near the start line. The gun went-off AJ & Arif left me and Senn behind. It took me nearly 6 minutes to cross the starting line. Less than 2 km into the run, I pee behind a bus stop opposite Rabobank at Robinson Road. C'mon, this is Singapore! I could be thrown into a jail if I pee in public on other days. That how strict is this country.

The first 10km was nothing, I felt good. I have abundance of power gels to finish today. I already took 2 gels before 10km. When we entered East Coast Park, I had stomach discomfort... oh nooo... gotta find a toilet. But all mobile toilets were full with people queuing to do their business. I had to run until KM 18 before I found a toilet in the park with less people. After settled my big business, I met Steve and Azmar. We ran together for a short while before Azmar & me dropped Steve behind. Steve wasn't feeling well that day. After KM 20, Azmar dropped me because I was bloody slow.

So far the run was ok but slowly I felt the pains at both legs. By the time, I got to KM 25 I walked more than run. Lucky me, I met Kash and we paced each other. We were talking about how difficult and painful is the race. Kash told me, she doesn't want to participate in any marathons in the future. Yeah, I was thinking the same... "this is gonna be my last marathon" like in previous marathon races but wait till I cross the finish line... hehehe.

At KM 35 we saw this sign on the mark "Pain is temporary", well it was unbearable pains. My legs were ok but my ligament that support arch on the sole that hurt. I believe it was because I changed the way I run to midfoot strike. This is the longest ever I ran midfoot strike. No blisters, no knees pain, no cramps but my right sole was very painful.

Once I saw F1 paddock near the Singapore Eye, I started to smile again. Another 2km more to go. I could hear the crowds cheering, the music & announcer. Both side of the was full with people cheering, clapping and giving words of encouragement. I savor the moment when I saw the finish line in distance. Every step was so good. Yesss! I completed my 6th marathon in 5:48. Way off my sub 5 target and not even my PB. But the satisfaction I can't describe, always make me comeback for more races.

Thanks to TSB & Kamarul for your company. And thanks to Yusran for sending me home after a long bus ride back to KL after the race. Hope to race in GE30k in January and Putrajaya Night Marathon in February. Keep on running and stay healthy!

Comments

dochisyam said…
Brader Kam,
at our age, just forget about PB and other stuff ok. Just go out and have fun
I'm glad you did

Doc ala
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 6:49:00 PM GMT+8
Kam Kasturie said…
Yes bro... enjoy life, hehehe
Nanti kita pegi rock climbing.
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 11:24:00 PM GMT+8
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2022 Suzuki SV650

Image
After three years of dormancy, I'm finally back on the bike and eager to share my experiences with you all. In this post, I want to talk about the Suzuki SV650, a middleweight-class motorcycle that I recently acquired. Earlier this year, I was in search of a new bike for my daily commute to the office. My small scooter, which had served me well during the pandemic, had become unreliable after I rode it nearly 100km per day. One day, while riding full throttle on the highway, the drive belt snapped in the middle of the PLUS highway. I had to push my bike to the Kajang toll gate before a good samaritan, a Grab rider, helped me push it to a workshop in Bandar Baru Bangi. It was clear that I needed a more reliable and robust bike for my daily commute. Initially, I considered a few entry-level bikes, such as the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and the KTM Duke 390. However, I soon found myself drawn to the middleweight class, which included the Honda CB650R, Yamaha MT07, Kawasaki Z650, Suzuki ...
Read more

2021 Triumph Trident 660

Image
Just a month after I bought my SV650, Fiza's friend offered her husband's motorcycle at a very attractive price. Apparently, her husband had given up riding and was willing to let go of the bike. After discussing it with me, I immediately told her to grab it because the mileage was fairly low. They settled the deal in just 15 minutes and over the following weekend, we went to JB to pick up the bike. To our surprise, the previous owner not only handed over the bike but also everything else, including riding jackets, boots, helmets, gloves, and more. Even the bike came with extras like a windscreen, new levers, engine guard, belly pan, tail bag, and bike cover. He said he didn't have time or passion for riding anymore, which was evident from the fact that the bike had only 174 km mileage after more than a year. The bike had not even had the first service yet! Before I bought my SV650, I had considered the Triumph Trident 660, but the price was way more expensive. Fiza, on the...
Read more

Weekend Jaunt to KCH

Image
First time I joined Sayang night stop in Kuching by boarding the aircraft she was operating. The entire crew treated me very well and I also got 1st class treatment from my Sayang. She made a special welcome drink for me.   We stayed for 2 nites at Hilton Kuching. We got a room with a nice view of the waterfront. On the 1st day, we walked along the waterfront and crossed over the newly built bridge. There were many tourists and locals hanging around the area until late at night. We went to TOPSPOT for a seafood dinner. After dinner, we just went back to the room to sleep early because Fiza has to work early morning.  While she was working, I went to Pasar Satok alone to buy terubuk masin and jalan2 enjoying local delicacies at Pasar Minggu Satok. Sayang came back in the afternoon but we only went out at night. We crossed the river to the other side using sampan to enjoy our dinner at My Village Barok. The food was good and there was a guy doing a solo perf...
Read more