The long and short about The Very Long Run

4 Dec ’05: Completed my first marathon. Told myself I will never subject myself to such torture again.

Aug ’06: Signed up for my second marathon.

Early Dec ’06: Toyed with the idea of giving up because of the severe lack of training, but the thought of the free t-shirt and cheerleaders in skimpy outfits convinced me otherwise.

3 Dec ’06, 4:30am: Received SMS from Sushi Eating Friend that went “Please don’t oversleep.”. I’m very grateful because otherwise, I could have ended up like Adrenaline, who was half an hour late for her 21km. Heh.

5:30am: Reached Esplanade. Realized the free t-shirt is not really free after I spent a whopping $26 on cab fare. Walau.

6:00am: And the race is on! Instead of thinking about the glorious run and the glorious Sweet Young Things in sport bras around me, my thoughts were occupied by the urgent need to pee.

6:15am: Peed along some bushes at Marina South in full view of a few thousand other runners.

6:20am: The Kenyans were exiting the 11km mark while I was just entering my 4km. Walau.

7:00am: Bumped into Adrenaline and Zhe Bin, who was at the other side of the race.

7:15am: Felt something wet, slimy, and birdshitty hit my hand. I think bumping into Adrenaline is suay.

7:30am: Blisters started forming at the inner sides of my feet.

8:00am: Cramp at the right thigh.

9:00am: Cramp at the left thigh.

9:30am: Started to rain. Adrenaline is indeed suay.

10:00am: Passed the turning point at East Coast, which meant I’ve ran for a freaking 28km already. I thought it might be a good idea to pat myself at the back and catch a cab back home, but the thought of blowing more money on taxi puts me off.

11:00am: Finally, finally exited the very torturous ECP. Called Sushi Eating Friend that she can make her way down already.

11:30am: Hit 37km. My legs are spent at this point of time, and as much as I wanted to, I simply couldn’t accelerate anymore. I proceeded to limp very, very slowly.

11:40am: Hit 38km. Realized I spent 10 minutes on a single kilometer, a distance I should have covered in half that time.

11:50am: Hit 39km. Last 3km! I can do it!

12:00pm: Hit 40km. My legs say they can’t!

12:10pm: Hit 41km. Received SMS from Sushi Eating Friend. She said I better hurry up because she was getting hungry. Walau.

12:24pm: The final stretch. The finishing line was in sight, and I forced my very unwilling legs to dash through the end. I looked out for Sushi Eating Friend, and waved like mad when I saw her standing at the spot where she said she will be standing. She waved madly back too. I passed the finishing line with a smile :)


With Love,
Sibeh Sian