Singapore Marathon- Before and After

Before
Was already down with running nose before I made my week-long trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai. My condition aggravated when i was unexpectedly caught in a cold front in Shanghai. It was below zero degree when I left Shanghai on Friday.

Checked-in to Pan Pacific hotel on Saturday.
Booked 2 nights at the hotel so i didnt have to wake up early on race day : )
Fu Ren was also down with running nose and cough. Guess I passed it to her before I left for Singapore. Sorry dear....

Race
Woke up at 4.15am and had a quick breakfast of cereal, muesli bar and raisin bun.
I was not in prime running condition as I was still sniffing and coughing, but i thought i would just try my best with the remaining 80% : ) Well, at least i had my running companion- my (running)nose, that is......cold wind.
Did some light stretching in the hotel room before I left for the race at 5.30am.
Didnt want get caught in the human jam so i thought i would be spare if i cross the start line at 5.40am.
Unfortunately i was wrong. There was still heavy human traffic so I finally crossed the start line at 5.46am.
I abandoned my 8-2 run/walk stategy and adopted the run-between-drink-stations-and-walk-in/out-drink stations strategy. There were 22 drink stations so the distance between stations should be 1.7-1.9km, and the plan was to spend 3 mins at each drink station. I should be able to make it to 5 hours.
I felt surprisingly strong up to the point of 30k but was famished by the time i reached Kallang Macdonald's (31k). I would have run into Mac if I had the money on me : ) Fortunately the banana station came up shortly which provided short relief.
My legs turned to lead after 35km and I was coughing most of the way. My focus had withered and I was taking more walk breaks than planned. My timing suffered the most between 33-38km.
After 38km, I ceased to walk as I didnt want Fu Ren and Haley to wait for too long : )
At 40km, I knew that I have no chance for a sub-5 timing unless I was able to do a sub-6/km pace and risk a calf cramp. I maintained my 7:00/km pace.
During the last 200m or so, I recalled all those trainings I have put in, suddenly it became all worth it. I have successfully RUN and complete my first Marathon : ))
Mission accomplished. I am proud of myself!

Distance: 42.195km
Time: 5hr 2 mins (chip)
Placement: 3237 out of 11,003 runners (gun) = Top 30%.

Breakdown
10km = 1:12 (7:12/km)
21km = 2:28 (6:54/km)
30km = 3:31 (7:00/km)
42.195km = 5:02 (7:30/km)
Average pace = 7:10/km

After
Booking a hotel nearby the race venue was the right choice. Reasons-
1. I could wake up later and Fu Ren would only need to proceed to finish line when I was near.
2. Didnt have to worry about finding a car park lot;
3. Could ice down the knees shortly after the race;
4. Shower and get changed!!
5. Most important of all, a short retreat of Fu Ren and myself : ))

Beside slightly achy quads, the legs felt ok today.
Went for a window shopping cum recovery walk with Fu Ren in Suntec before we checked-out of the hotel.
The result and photos were already out this evening when I logged-on, thumbs-up to the organiser.
Unfortunately, I couldnt find any of my photos online : ((( Heck it! I am not photogenic anyway.

Before SCSM, I was thinking of doing the Ultra-marathon for the 2009 Sundown.
After, I have new found respect for the distance so I will stick to marathon for 2009 Sundown.

Next target- 4:30 for full marathon and my pet project, Haley!!