Adidas Sundown Marathon (Post D Day)- Part 1

I was lost for words to start this entry, and thus the delay.
Today, I have taken the day-off as planned, to nuture the new and the old injuries.

Yes I have completed the Marathon (and have mixed feeling about it) but felt that I have not done a marathon.

Sidetrack:
Oh God, whoever and whenever you are, I want to thank you for answering my little prayer. I have kept to my promise to complete the race, although I didnt resort to crawl or roll across the finish line. And by the way, your little joke of rain at the 35-37km mark was a stroke of genius!

For a more detailed route description, you can refer to CAS' entry.

For a more boring encounter, read below.

The race was flagged off at 12midnight, and with 1km into the race, I knew that it was going to be a long tough night. I felt that I have already run a half-marathon even though i have just started. The fever and injuries did take a toll on me.

Ran with WK for the first 12km and rendezvous with CAS at 12+km (he couldnt recognise me as I was wearing a cap). Maintained a slower-than-planned run/walk till the U-turn point at 21km. Time check 2hr47mins.

New hot spots started to emerge on my abused legs, noticebly, at the left ankle near the tongue of the shoes. We did a slow run/walk back to the overhead bridge to siglap PCN.

However, I was reduced to a walk after the kembagan MRT station(23+km).
The pain on my left ankle and the left arch have made it unbearable to even conduct a slow jog.

The 2 guys were kind enough to walk with me to our pitstop at Bedok Reservoir (28km) where Fu Ren was waiting for us with ice cold Pocari and Bananas.
I took off my left shoes to check for blister or abrasion that was causing the pain. To my dismay, there wasnt any noticeable spot which led me to conclude the pain could be a sprain. I was still hoping that it was a case of over-tight shoes lacing and that loosening the lace would help.

We marched on to our objective after the much-needed pitstop. It was the 30km mark after we exited the Bedok Reservoir. Time check 4hr46mins.

Signalled the guys to go ahead without me cos I knew I have a long walk ahead.

I limped on alone, bravely, and ignorantly.

31km....32km....33km....was a relief to see the overhead bridge to Pasir Ris PCN.

34km...Downtown East! I have never missed you so much!

35km...thunder roar! Oops...did I feel a drop of rain?

35.5km...the rain got heavier...ah Shiit, I couldnt run. Limped to the nearest bus-stop.

10mins later.....decided to press on in the rain. At this point, my MP3 ran out of battery.

36km....pain......water and iso drinks at the water station were mixed with rain water.

37km....more pain as i walked up the slope towards Loyang Ave. Inevitably, I started to ask myself "Why??".

38km...smsed fu ren my location. She texted me "dear, are you sure you want to continue?".
My reply was "I want to know....what I can achieve."

Tears (or raindrops?) was rolling in my eyes, from pain, frustration and mental exhaustion.
I dug deeper for new leash of unfound strength.
It is almost 7 hours into the race. I walked half of it.

39km...thanks to the volunteers and supporters for their encouragement.

40km...41km.... the end is near.

"400m"(finish line ahead). The figure has never meant so much to me.

Changi Point Ferry terminal...saw fu ren, WK and CAS waiting for me.
Posed for photo.


I looked damn "zai" walking past the ferry terminal.


And at last, the finish line!! Time check: 7hrs31mins.


Mechnically I went to the booth to collect my finisher tee and medal.
No overwhelmed feeling, no fist pump at the finish line.
I guess I enjoyed the process more than the result.


Limped back to meet fu ren and the guys.
Since CAS had to rush home, we didnt have breakfast together.

Uneventful post-race activities- fu ren and I had breakfast before we headed home to wash up.
Time to repair the "broken legs" with lots of icing, compression and anti-inflammatory pills.
Later learned that my pain was a "high ankle sprain" resulting from torn ligaments connecting the shin and splint bone. This will take a while to heal.

Sorry, fu ren, no passion run for me this weekend!

Again, I am going to proclaim this as the toughest run I have ever attempted, as I didnt have any factors in my favour before or during the race.
Will I do it again? No, not in the same condition I was.
Will I come back next year? Yes!! Maybe for the ultra-marathon : )

^..^