1/2 Marathon Fun! The Standard Chartered Marathon

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I did it. I am so so sooo excited to report that I finished my very first Half Marathon this morning and had a great time (for almost all of it). My time is nothing special, but I am very proud of every second of the 3 hours and 3 minutes that it took me to make it 21k. There were killer hills, there was massive crowding, it got a little hot and sunny, but I crossed that finish line.

6:00am. Early like Woah. 

Me, K. and his friend from South Africa, A. 

The end of the starting line gantry.

Lots. of. people. 

I was very lucky to have some running company this time around- a first for me! My colleague and fabulous friend K. was kind enough to agree to run with me, and was amazing enough to stick with me, even through the hard bits. I know he had enough left in the tank to push forward a few times when I needed to do some walking, but he stayed with me and served as an amazing source of motivation to keep my legs moving. So K.- you rock. Thanks a million! Also, his friend A. is amazing and finished in 2:24. We ran together for about the first 5K (before she zoooomed off!) and she was a great motivating factor in keeping my pace up!

End of the starting line gantry @Sentosa Gateway. 

Lots. of. people. 

We started out on the bridge to Sentosa at 6:30am this morning, and I loved the first 7K, even though there were a few too many hills for my liking. We got to run right through Universal Studios, said hello to Shrek at his castle, and took in the sights. No lie, this part was pretty cool. Between the cool breach breezes on the path in Sentosa, and the crazyness in the theme park (people were legit stopping running to take their pictures with the costumed characters!), it made for a fast and fun first half of the race. We even saw a guy running (fast, I might add) in a banana costume.

Dave saw him too, and thought it was just as entertaining as I did! 

The going got a little tough when the race planners had the great idea to make us run about a half a click underground in a parking lot, complete with a hundred buses idling. Made for some amazing breathing conditions, nothing like a little diesel in the morning. Ugh- poor planning for sure.

Running back across the bridge from Sentosa, we ran in to my favorite race photographer and personal cheering section- he's the best husband ever!

Happy to see a familiar face in the crowd! 

Keeping trucking on..... 11K to go....

Btw- check out my super cool water belt, totes makes me look like a pro. I am a water enthusiast. 

Things took a turn for the worse after the first 10K as we left pretty Sentosa and headed out for a long long stretch on the elevated expressway. I knew this part was going to be mentally tough, but between the increasing heat, the surprise steep hills, the occasional human traffic jams and the monotony of the highway, I have to admit that it was a little soul crushing. Thank goodness K. was there to keep me moving, because by 15K my hips and feet were hurting and it seemed like a long way to the finish line. I knew pretty early in the 2nd 10K that 2:30 was out of the question and it was going to be a struggle to get across in sub 3:00, but K. never gave up on me and we kept putting rubber to pavement and looking anxiously for the next downhill section and the elusive water stations.

I can fairly say that I left it all out there. I usually try to really pound out the last kilometer and do my best Olympic medal winning sprint across the finish line, but it was all I could do to keep my poor sore little feet moving to the finish line- the energy tank was empty and there was nothing left for a victory sprint. K. however made a very impressive final push and looked like quite the stud rocking across the finish line ahead of me.

Here I come across the final 100m. 

You can see a little bit of pain in my face. I was working it. 

But the end is in sight. 

K. leading the way in. 

So close! 

Getting in line for a well deserved granola bar and 100 Plus. 

Team Awesome- happy to be done! 

Love me a good medal. 

We did it! 

More after the jump....

Now I can be realistic that 3:03 (which, by the way, would have been sub-3:00 but for a little emergency bathroom trip at around 4K- oh well) is not a very "good" time for a half marathon. And plenty of people in this world finish full marathons in less time. But I am proud of every single minute. Three months ago I couldn't have run a 5K and I have worked hard to get where I am with my running. Towards the end of the race I started to get a bit negative about not being able to keep up the  pace that I started out with and feeling guilty about needing to walk and holding K. back but I looked around at all the people around me struggling to finish the 10K and took a moment to mentally congratulate myself for all my hard work, even if it wasn't as fast as I had hoped it might be. I may never run a full marathon (although I'd like to!) and I may never run a sub-2:00 1/2 Marathon, but I think I can officially call myself a runner now, and am proud of myself for sticking with something that I find physically and mentally challenging. This is probably my last big run of 2010, but watch out 2011, me and my sneakers are comin' for ya.

1/2 Marathon Lessons Learned:
1) Hills suck. And there were LOTS of them on this course. Practicing on a flat course doth not prepare thee for massive inclines.
2) A little Vaseline around the edges of my sports bra would have been super. Never understood why people lubed up like that, but now I do. Ouch.
3) Running with a friend is awesome. I don't think I could have pushed as hard with out K.
4) Not leaving time to go to the bathroom right before the race is going to cost you at least 5 minutes of running time. Darn. But the alternative was worse.
5) Orange flavored energy gels is replusive. Stick to chocolate at all costs.
6) Water belts may make you look like a nerd but damn is it nice to have a quick shot of water when your mouth is dry and you need a little pick me up.
7) A long run in advance probably would have really made a big difference- past about 12K was the great unknown for me and while I thought I had the endurance to keep going from cross training, actually running 17 or 18K would have been a good idea mentally and physically. But alas, life got busy and long runs seemed less tempting than hours on the elliptical watching iTunes on my iPad. Lesson learned.
8) There is no shame in going your own pace. I felt worst when I was trying to push past my edge  than I did when I was jogging along at my own pace. There were plenty of people going slower than me and I need to learn to fully embrace my own pace and stride (and maybe learn to go a wee bit faster).
9) Running is hard. I have nothing but the utmost respect for all of my friends who have finished marathons and iron mans and other crazy events. Its not easy. And it takes a lot of dedication to properly train (see number 7 above) so bravo to all of my running friends- you have inspired me and motivated me to keep me moving!
10) Running is FUN (most of the time). And the feeling you get crossing the finish line makes everything worth it.

I'd like to thank my wonderful husband for being a great supporter of my running (and of course of everything else too). He has patiently listed to me bitch and moan talk about my running for months, got out of bed very very early to come be there for my races and has generally been a great cheerleader for me. It is always nice to have a friendly face in the crowd and to know he is proud of me when I cross the finish line (even if he didn't tell me I was gross when he gave me a hug in the Padang today... ok, let's be honest, I was gross... but still).

Enjoy some more pictures taken by the expert sports photog....

Still thousands of people waiting to get to the start. We were wayyyyy up in the front and crossed the mat only about a minute after the horn. 

First cable cars from Mt. Faber in the morning

More Banana-man. Impressive. 

I suppose I should feel bad that this guy was def. sub-2:30, in a banana suit, but I'm cool with it. 

Here I come.

10K in and a smile on my face. (the smile temporarily left between 12-14K, but it returned later)

Me and K giving Dave the hello! We were happy to see him for sure! 

One of the best signs I have ever seen. 

150m. Thank. the. lord. 

Mad props to this guy, who did the FULL Marathon in a normal wheelchair. Intense. 

Me and K hiding in the back there. So close! 

Madness in the Padang. 

Love love love these guys. Don't know how you learn to do tricks with three exercise balls strapped to your body, but they were awesome! 

A beautiful day for 21K.