2nd marathon : COMPLETED.
I chose Melbourne this year because of the date, being the sucker I am. What better way to spend it when thousands of other people chose to get married right? :P
I gave myself more than half a year to train for this marathon, tried to improve running form and eat better. Training worked for a while, but my injury became chronic. It was very frustrating to come back after each long run to have my foot ache badly- I ended up not doing the long runs frequently enough, hoping that I would be able to catch up. I had other plans - Fiji and New Zealand meant wasted time as well. It was about 4 weeks before the marathon that I realised OH SHIT I HAVE NOT HIT 30. Talk about procrastination. That weekend I went out for a run, tried to go for as long as I could, but failed to reach my target distance by 3ks. I blamed the weather (too hot), and of course my own lack of discipline.
The week before the marathon, I couldn't run at all because my injury flared (ugh). Did a bit of cross training and tried to trick my brain into thinking that I really did 30ks - I should have no problems finishing it. Hah.
A time goal was unrealistic. The goal was to finish more comfortably than the last marathon.
Race day was a disaster. I tore one of my contact lenses (new one too!) Stood in the bathroom cursing silently for awhile before I decided to be mean and wake Yin Ling. Thank goodness most Asians are myopic to more or less the same degree - I ended up stealing a new one from her ^_^
The Melbourne Cricket Ground was cold when I got there. Weather forecast said max 25, min 14. LIES. It was 11 degrees up until 9 am, and there we were standing in singlets and shorts. I forced myself to use the Galloway run/walk method throughout the whole run - people gave me weird glances (what's this stupid girl doing walking even before hitting 2ks) when I started walking 8 minutes into the race. Decided to just ignore and run my own race; I found other people who were doing the same thing as I was anyway :)
I kept my pace slow and steady, hoping the dreaded cramps wouldn't come. My 10k and 21k times were a bit slower than usual, but that was all right. I only felt like a failure when these Japanese aunties in their 50s were charging past sub 4:00 on the other side of the road wearing water-proof makeup and running dresses shouting "GAMBATTE!!!!!!" At 25k I decided to use my music (I have always had the opinion that real runners don't need music - it's more important to enjoy the scenery and reflect - but hey, I wanted to finish this run really badly and I was slowing down at that point). It helped tremendously. I think I even started running a bit faster at some parts!
Nothing else to report after that. I went through periods of feeling really tired and wanting to stop, feeling extremely happy, and there were times when I just staring daggers into space and charging on with determination. At around 35k there was another uphill (!) - I decided to just walk that part. At that point this aunty who speed walked from the start (Ran past her before the 5k mark) CAUGHT UP and continued walking on, overtaking everyone. I decided to give chase but didn't manage to catch her even with running :O After that I just kept my mind blank, miraculously felt happy (it was more than happiness, can't really describe it) and smiled like a mad woman for the rest of the run. The cramps decided to show up at the last 500m but I didn't care; that was the best I could ask for already.
Time was 4:55 (official one recorded 4:54:59 - details!), 23 minutes better than my record last year :D:D:D I was ecstatic, given the fact that I was not prepared and only half expected to finish this run. The massage after that was heavenly. Post race lunch was Malaysian food, yumyum.
Thoughts on the race: organisation was generally not as good as the Gold Coast marathon.
- The signs stating each kilometre mark were not very visible as they were on the floor instead of higher up stuck to a pole. I nearly didn't see the 40k mark, and at that point it is VERY important to know that one has passed yet another km.
- People didn't know where to go to drop off their clothing before the race.There were volunteers trying to explain but they weren't very helpful - we just stood around for about 10 minutes feeling lost and mildly irritated before anyone knew where to go to.
- NO FINISHERS' T-SHIRT. What the heck, we paid so much to enter the race, and the only thing they gave was a St George towel (FACE towel at that)?! The whole point of finishing is to be able to WEAR the shirt around for bragging rights - can't really wear the finishers' medal around because that just looks stupid. I was really disappointed.
The water and aid stations were very good though. Volunteers on the way were fantastic and supportive, so it wasn't all bad =)
Most importantly, marathon goal achieved :D
THE RUN/WALK METHOD REALLY WORKS, TRY IT (whoever's reading this).
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