Well it's that time of the year once more as the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon is just a couple of days away. There is quite a bit of hype for this edition as the event is breaking from tradition - it is going to be an evening race instead of one that begins in the morning. I'm also really hyped up but I did not manage to get a training block in this year so I would be involved in another capacity (winks at @yeahyeahright).
Anyway this is a reproduction of my race report for SCSM2018. This done last year after the run so the feelings were really raw - I'm just reproducing this to remind myself of the ups and downs during the race. For those of you who are running this weekend, hang in there when the going gets tough and it is normal to have a see-saw experience of emotions.
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This is going to be another one of those longish posts. Seems like this is becoming a trend but well, after going through a crazy episode, I guess it is pretty normal to have loads to recollect. There are several things that I would like to bring up: 1) Race review 2) A mention-worthy moment 3) Giving thanks - Running is never a solo affair
Background:
Only decided to sign up for SCSM2018 at the very last moment. I’ve been running with team415 since Aug because I just wanted to get back in the groove of things and I felt that 6min/km is a good pace. However one thing led to another and by end Oct when we did our 30k run, I felt awesome and I contemplated signing up. Actually I did not miss any major training runs for the entire training period! On our final 33k run, in mid Nov, I felt a bit tentative but I felt like I have a shot. Hence my mind was convinced/conned/made up to have a go at the entire distance given that it’s the best training block that I have had in 3 years.
Race weekend!
This was just like any other race weekend. Ever since 2013, the boys and I would try to spend a night at one of the hotels in the area so that it would be easier to get to the race venue + it would allow us to get a shower in after the race. This year was no different and we had one of the newly renovated rooms at swissotel. It was a pleasant surprise because the room went from your usual traditional office work hotel to one that was chic and modern.
After checking in, we were up to the usual shenanigans with our flat lays and all. After that we had a quick dinner and we headed off to bed for a really early night.
Pre-race essentials
1) Let it begin!
I was off to the startline at 330am. The walk was quicker than expected and I was pretty surprised. During the walk, the tension was very much in the air as many runners were already making their way to the F1 pit building. The event this year feels larger than usual as it felt like a festival. During the walk to the start pen, I saw many runners from the various countries each with their own support contingent all decked in their own national colours + flags. Well if they want to make the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon bigger, I guess this was one way of doing it. The hype was certainly very much present and I would like to think that the international runners had a great race.Headed to the start pen and felt at home once I saw the pacers entering the pen. Also saw familiar faces: Andrew Cheong Diana Lee Declan Teo Ming Yi and many more!
Race strategy:
I knew that my race strategy was to follow the guys below for as long as I can. I have been running with them for the last 4 training runs (including the 33k) and I felt okay. I still remember telling Raymond Goh the night before that if I were still with them at 36km, I had an awesome chance of going all the way. Furthermore these guys have everything you can ask for in a pace team. Energy, mischief, a calm head and a manager (looks at Alvin Tan) and it was such a wonderful group to run with!
The hyper 4hr pacers!
First 10km: It was a good start as I cruised through while staying behind the 4hr/2hr pacers as it was a little cooler. However I was a little apprehensive about the weather because I was sweating buckets by the 5km mark. This is not usual because this normally happens at the 15-20km mark. There were some doubts about how this was going to turn out but I told myself that we should only worry about it when it was time to cross the bridge. We also had our first slope of the day up West Coast highway at the 8km mark.
11km - 20km: West Coast Highway - we did an out and back loop. It was HOT AND REALLY HUMID. The air was very still and there was no breeze at all so we were drowning in the humidity. I was really thankful after the U turn on the highway because it allowed me to look at all the runners running past us. This broke the monotony and it allowed me to see so many familiar faces from past races + folks who have joined us for our training sessions in the past 4 months. We continued to chip away and we left the highway at 18km. Shortly after I also saw our "satellite" support station consisting of Nuraini Ariel Malik + (I can't remember who) who got up to shout at thousands of runners at 5am in the morning. It was astounding to see all of them coming out in force to lend their support at 6am on a Sunday morning.
Shoutouts: Kevin Lee- For telling me to stay out of the way to stay cool Brandon Cheang - For digging so deep to finish that I heard that potholes were sighted in Shenton way at 6am on raceday.
21km - 30km:This was a very solid stretch. Felt strong as we headed into the 21km mark and this continued largely throughout the course of this entire period. I had a pleasant surprise as I saw a couple of folks including Amir Anan at the 25k mark before turning into ECP. Took half of my gel at 25km and knuckled down to "enjoy" the cruising section of the race. I always feel that 21km - 33km is the period where you cruise through because this is what your training prepares you for. My auto pilot also saw me bringing myself in front the 4 hr pacers for 28km - 33km.
31km - 37/38km: At the 31km mark, I started believing that I could hang on all the way to the finish. The danger here - we all knew that the real race starts at 30/32km so everything was still up in the air and I wasn't going to kid myself. At the 31km mark I felt a strange twitch in my legs and I was hoping that the dreaded C word was not gonna affect me. However the twitch became an undeniable sensation at the 33km mark and I was just hoping for the best. Finished off my gel and took loads of fluids in the hope that it would go away.
I remember that 33km was at the water point and that I was just focusing on following the 4hr train. --> PARK THIS, MORE ON THIS LATER
Pushed through and went past the AWESOME Running Department SUPPORT STATION at the flower dome. This place holds very significant running memories (2014,2015,2016,2017) for me as a runner and a supporter, and I felt relieved to see them. Special shoutout to Boon as he screamed at me to get me the bottle of water + gel that I requested for! After speaking to some of them at the end of the race, some expressed shock that I was right in the thick of the action and that my face was SO FLUSHED hahahaha! Actually at this point I already felt like shit and I was also going deep into my reserves to hold onto the pace - the two musketeers Kevin and Brendan also hopped onto the train to get us home.
Managed to hold on till the 37-38km mark and that was where the undeniable sensation in my legs became a full blown attention demanding bitch. I wasn't able to coax or shake it off and it hurt so much that I was reduced to a crawl.
Uphill climb:It was just an uphill struggle (literally) as I had to hobble up Sheares Bridge and every step felt like:
In the end I walked quite a bit and the same thoughts came running though my mind - why are you so foolish to sign up for this/ pay to suffer/ lets try running because you can take the pain out of your mind/ actually scrap that - the pain is your friend and you love pain/ push on, nothing worth it comes easily/ you already done the hardwork for 3+ hours so push on etc etc
Ultimately the last 4km was...HELL ON EARTH but I was glad I managed to finish. Also saw Tammy Chew surprising me at the end and she took a vid of my NOGASLEFTINTHETANK face at the 42km mark. Gave her a high five and promptly received a cramp in my left calf after that.
All in all, I am very grateful that my body held up (somewhat) and I finished the run in 4hr06min which is a personal best. I will take it because it was more than I could ask for!
2) A mention-worthy moment!
I would like to take us back to the 33km mark of the race where I was starting to really feel my legs tighten up. The thought of giving up did not cross my mind because I believed that the training would get me through. I was just sloughing though and then Soo Eng Tan suddenly popped up beside me.
“Chris, you just have to remember that you have put in the miles and that your training would get you through this race.”
These are very simple words of wisdom. HELL, THIS IS ALSO WHAT I NORMALLY TELL MYSELF WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH. Strangely it is these very same words that had such a poignant effect on me that day. I’m not sure why but it might be that it is my first time racing in years + I am in the process of emptying the tank AND when this suddenly comes from someone out of the blue, it really hits the nail on the head. It hit home so hard that I had the goosebumps but I wasn’t going to bawl my eyes out in the middle of a race.
I made a mental note to myself that I would thank her at the end of the race for the gesture no matter how this chapter ends. So I ended the race, looked for the pacer gathering point and when I saw her, I went up and gave her a huge bear hug.
I am grateful that it came out in this fashion as this is expression in its most unadulterated form and for that, I am very thankful.
Strangely while this was happening, the floodgates opened and the waterworks started as tears just started streaming down my cheeks. Looking back, I think I was going through a lot at that point in time (33km) and that expression really helped me bring everything back together. I believe it helped me hang on until the time I succumbed to the dreaded cramps. I was also pretty surprised that the medium to which my thanks were conveyed was so unexpected, and so unlike me. However I am grateful that it came out in this fashion because no amount of words would be sufficient to explain the overwhelming concoction of emotions that was going on in my head. This is expression in its most unadulterated form and for that, I am very thankful to be able to have let that moment fulfill its purpose.
Once again - Thanks Soo, I really appreciate it. I didn’t manage to hang on all the way but it doesn’t matter because it’s about giving it my all and just having a go until the wheels come off. All in all it was a super fulfilling race and that was a very wonderful moment for me to remember.
3) Giving thanks
Running is a team sport - more on that in another post. For this run, there are so many people that I want to thank for I would have never even made the start line if not for you guys especially the fantastic folks over at runningdepartment!
Team #415 - Jacky Lo Lum Kin Wah Ivan Laine Fu Min Han Toh Jeremy Kuang for dragging me through one of the most solid training blocks that I had in recent years + the constant psyching to get me to run
Team #400 -AAron Lwk Shawn Tan Teo Zhi Hao - for welcoming me and dragging me through the toughest portions of raceday - my result is yours as much as it is mine. Alvin Tan, actually a pretty large part of my experience this year was defined by you because of the constant egging/nagging right from Sep. Even on raceday itself you were my moving marker because you are a giraffe and all I saw was your bobbing head when I looked up hahaha. Thinking back, actually perhaps you and Aaron SK Woon might have single handedly sow the seed (of just running) in my thick skull right from the start.
Andrew Lin Yikai - For telling me that you got the whole photo portion covered. Without your approval, I won’t have dared to sign up. Thank you for going solo and covering this whole thing yourself. It is tough doing it alone and doing this for the biggest running event of the year meant that your work was cut it but the pictures are awesome as always. I know how this whole picture thing means to you, I share the same sentiment and I definitely got your back for the next event!
David Chung & Soo Eng Tan - for encouraging me to just go for it (it tipped the balance to really making me sign up HAHAHA) in the final sessions building up to raceday
Boon - for the random conversations and the screaming and shouting during massage. I think gimme 2 weeks, I’ll ask if you’re free for a session - open invite to anyone who wants to see me wither and die
Melvin Wong - for suddenly popping up and giving me the encouragement to kick onKevin, Raymond and Baldwin - For keeping me on track with all my weekday runs and for everything else. All the other pacing teams this year - for being such awesome company. Don’t think I have felt as involved in a while. The wider RD family - for making Saturdays bearable with all the talk and banter
Tammy Chew - for everything and everything!
Terence Teo & Abe Sim - for letting me do whatever that is required. Glad that I could keep up my part of the bargain by getting a PB (HEEHEEHEE) and hope that you all made some $$$ from the side bets...treat me makan please hahhaha
Special mentions:
Shawn Tan - at the 34k when my wheels were coming off, I said we need you to take us to the end. Brandon Cheang - at 36k when you saw my shag face you tried to pull me along by telling me that it’s just a bit to go and I was like yeah lets do it. Unfortunately for the both of you I BUANG in the next 2 km hahahaha but thanks so much for getting me to my limit.
Too many people to thank - sorry if I missed you guys out but much much love to all of you guys for everything over the last few months!
This is a fantastic way to end the first year of my 30s - still feeling like a spring chicken!
Chris out!
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