Monday, May 26, 2008
YES!!! I finally realised one of my lifelong dreams.. I've completed my first ever marathon!! I'm still a bit in disbelief now, that I've actually accomplished the feat, against all the odds that were stacked in my path. Only the sharp pain whenever I move my right knee now remind me that it's real, and of the price I've paid in persevering the whole way!
3 weeks back, when I was in Hungary, all the cycling and climbing and trekking in the countryside took their physical toll on me, and it all culminated in me injuring both my knees when I jumped off a giant rock I'd climbed up for a photo. The moment I landed I could feel the sharp pain, and my first thought was "wat now about my marathon!"
Since then I hadn't been doing any serious training, cos everytime I tried to run it just came back after 8-10km. And after my last run last Tue it hurt so bad I was having doubts about my participation in the race oredi. And it didn't help that the marathon website kept prompting us to "withdraw and be a volunteer instead if u've become injured" haha! I din want to give up dis dream so easily though. I'd train so hard for it, and it isn't every year that you can do a marathon along the beautiful Scottish coastline! So I changed my targets a little, I decided that my primary aim would be to finish, and anything on top of that would be a bonus!
Fri nite I took the overnite bus from London to Edinburgh. When I got off the bus in the morning, I could feel my knee a little after sitting in the same position the whole nite. That got me a bit worried, but after walking around the whole day (I walked more dan 12 km that day, to the Expo to collect my race number, and then back and around Edinburgh!) the pain sorta disappeared.
^ Finally found you! Grr Googlemaps gave me wrong directions and led me to a spa centre offering pre-race massage!!?
^ Finally reached the Expo after a long 6km walk!
^ Hairy car spotted at the Expo!
^ I couldn't resist taking another shot at the Scott Monument.. its a ritual everytime I visit Edinburgh!
^ The less famous other castle of Edinburgh..
^ ..and its more famous counterpart.. The Edinburgh Castle
^ Kids having fun in a playground
Apart from all the walking, I din do much that day. Spent lots of time just resting in the hostel. 8pds/nite. One of the cheapest hostels I've stayed in, and it was surprisingly not bad. Breakfast was even provided, and a well equipped kitchen and tv room.
^Kitchen in the hostel
^ Pre-race preparatory meal.. Lamb liver and bacon streaks with mashed potatoes!? Its quite nice really!
^ The room in the hostel.. packed, but quite comfortable still
Race morning arrived quickly, and I was all excited. Up at 7am, I was feeling fine. The knee didn't seem to trouble me much as I walked the 25min to the start point. The festivities were all out in full force that morning. All the balloons and music and people wearing different costumes. It was quite a sight, and quite an experience just squeezing through the masses of people that was keeping the morning chill at bay. After depositing my bag, I located my starting pen, and as I went about doing my stretches, I couldn't help but overhear some of the conversations around me! Apparently most of these people were seasoned marathon runners! They were comparing timings of the race they did the last month, or the Ironman they were going for the next month, and it suddenly dawned upon me just who I was pitting myself against!!
^ Frens huddle together for pre-race fotos
^ And some warming up together... I was all alone!!
^ Runners and supporters mingle freely, keeping each other warm!!
^ Still fresh before the start of the race!
^ Lets get the party started.. Stevie boy u're in my way!!
Scary ah, but I tried not to let the thought of being one of the few rookies, and most likely the only one with a bad knee, be too daunting. The seconds ticked by, the starting horn blew, and all the emotions rushed through me as I started pounding away on the miles of tarmac that laid ahead of me. Lots of people had lined the streets, to cheer on their loved ones, or just to soak in the atmosphere. I soaked in the atmosphere as well, psychoing myself that all of them were cheering for me! It would be me against the road for the next 26.2miles.. 42.2km.. well not just me lah.. I'd brought along my fave travel companion for company.. guess wat.. my camera! So right from the start I was busy shooting videos even as I ran hard! I even managed a few shots of a few superheroes as I ran alongside Captain America, Scooby-doo, a Banana-man and some beach boys. Running in such an environment, no wonder I was enjoying myself lah!
^ Scooby in his element!
For the first 10 miles, I was actually feeling pretty comfortable! I was consistently clocking below 8min/mile, the time I needed to do a 3hr30min race. But the problems set in after 10.5miles, I was starting to feel a tingling sensation in my bad knee, and after I stopped to adjust my knee guard after 11miles, it got so painful when I tried to start running again that I had to walk another minute or so! The next 9miles were pure misery manz.. I had reached the point of no return. There was definitely no turning back now, and stopping was definitely not in my dictionary after all the training and all the effort to get there for the race! I wanted glory, and I wanted it badly! So I shifted my pain onto the road, as I tried to shift all my weight onto my left leg. It was now a stop-start affair. Run abit... pain gets unbearable.. stop a few seconds.. walk a bit.. run a bit more.. then I realised everytime I stopped it got very very very painful when I tried to start running again, so I decided not to stop but to run very slow. I was slow to the point that other racers were streaming past me effortlessly. It hurt my morale big time, being one who hates to be overtaken in running.. but I told myself I was competing against my knee now.. aim was just to finish.. TO FINISH!!
After 20miles I was finally able to tell myself there was less dan 6miles to go now.. taking one step at a time, focusing all my attention on the road ahead of me, I was able to keep running. Runners were stil streaming past me, and as I avoided the urge to speed up to catch up with them, the terrible "I'm gonna finish dis race, then die at the finish line" grimace on my face, and the limp in my right leg prompted lots of "Go on, not far now!", "You can do it!" and "Come on, you're doing well!" from the worried on-lookers lining the streets. At that point it was not just the knee, I was feeling weak in both my legs as I'd exhausted most of my energy. I began grabbing jellybeans and gummies from the spectators who were offering them to us. These little energy-boosters went a long way in helping me complete the race manz.. and I must really thank the nice people who handed them out to me! Next time though (if my knee recovers enough for me to run another one!) I'm gonna bring some of those energy bars I see most runners carry on their belts!
As I hit the 25mile mark, I sped up a little, the "I'll die at the finish line" grimace changing into a "I'll die at my next step" grimace. I was looking ahead.. looking out for the 26mile marker.. and it seemed to take forever to arrive!! When I finally did pass it, I mustered enough energy to whip out my campanion, my camera. Video mode turned on, I pounded into the home stretch, left foot heavily, right foot gingerly. The crowd thought it was funny too.. they were taking fotos of the race, and here's a racer taking fotos of them! And for that I got some pretty loud cheers as I ran the last 300+ metres in the stadium. I heard cries of "must be a tourist!".. and so I was.. and a tourist enjoying a historic moment completing his first full marathon in historic Edinburgh!
^ Finally!! Me and my finisher's medal!
^ The winning timing for the day!
I finally crossed the finish line, to loud cheers from the amused grandstand.. I dun care wat they were thinking.. to me they were all cheering for me! As I saw myself in the giant sceen, all emotions ran through me again as the realisation hit me hard. I'd finally done it!! 42.2km... alone...foreign country..injured knee... disrupted training... I'm pretty amazed I managed to overcome all those adversities, and to achieve what I did.
When I saw the timing on the official clock I was even more amazed. 3hr35min!! 1st ever marathon, half a distance run as a cripple.. and still a timing I can be proud of! I almost wanted to cry manz.. I quote from a fellow runner who was helping to push me on "Impossible is nothing.. impossible is nothing!" yala yala.. its copyrighted to Adidas, but to me I'd finally overturned "impossibility" to create reality. And reality was forged with a potent mix of jelly-beanies from on-lookers, cheering spectators, and fellow runners who dragged me on with them, and definitely my own dogged persistence and endurance. Whew at least I can now look back and shout I DID IT loudly and have no regrets about anything!
^ Nothing like a cosy pub to chill out in after the race! One guy at the counter heard dat I was "dying after a marathon" and exclaimed "Oh my Jesus Christ.. let me get u a beer!"
^ And here's my fave Strongbow!
^ Chicken Balti and chips to compensate for all those lost energy!
^ Dinner was a cheese/bacon pie and a meat/potato pie from my fave Piemaker shop!
^ The Piemaker shop.. I definitely must visit it each time I go to Edinburgh.. fantastic pies.. reasonable prices!
^ Leaving Edinburgh (for the final time I hope.. its oredi my 6th visit there!) to a beautiful sunset, and beautiful beautiful memories..
^ A flurry of colours light up the sky as I wake up on the bus
^ Almost as nice as the legendary Aurora dun u think!
Hehe sorry for the long long entry for a short short day in my life.. but it certainly was one of my personal milestones, and one of the proudest moments in my life! Hee thanks, my friends for listening, and for sharing my emotions and joys, the pain along the way and the sweetness of accomplishment!
Now next worry... how to get my knee back in shape before my next trip!!!
senz posted at 8:38 PM
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