My First Marathon- GROE(3rd Dec 06)

GROE - Greatest Race on Earth. ( www.singaporemarathon.com)

Standard Chartered Marathon 42.195km!

Singapore - 3rd Dec 2006 @ 6am.

Enjoy this journey with me...as much i had.

Pre-Run Condition

at home

i had only went east coast twice, once, 10km and another managed to hit abt 16km to the turnaround point at east coast( the one poy told me to run until i see aeroplanes...:P) its a training of running, jogging, walking, dragging lo. and the final one i told myself to go, my usual running route, was to punngol park and managed to cover about 10km too.

and the "undesirable" thing that any gal would want to happen happened just days before the run. it makes all the running more challenging.

the night before personally was struck by another "bad"news from a close friend of mine, a sister. i rem right after the sat svc, during dinner, and only until the mrt, then i realised i just had to pray for her.and tt's all i can do for her, even though i would very much want to be with her in the next morning.Her face flashes across and only prayer can lift up the burdens within me. short but victorious one. indeed a breakthrough.Thank You Lord.

was emotionally "disturbed"yet went to sleep with an encouraging sms: "run or not run, nothing changes. God loves you......":P

awake. freshed. had a good 4+plus sleep. at least i managed to sleep despite the conditions.

did a few challenging decision for the run. to go run without stg and yet in my heart, hope nothing drastic will happen without it. :P

checked the belt my sweet brother gave me since he cant use it for his own run due to his feet injury. he was so nice that he got everything ready for me. even putting the bib tag etc.

while i was eating my powerbar, wild berry flavour. very awful! :P but had to swallowed it, just like a little kid having to finish up the medicine. ee...anyway, my xiaomei was also very nice. she helped me tied the timing chip to my shoe laces. haha, am i pampered or not?! we are ready to go, as we wait for xiaodi's and sandy's call. even my mum was awake just to check we are in "good"condition before we went out. i told her to watch out for the news, i may just hit the headlines, the record-breaker for the longest timing in all previous marathons! whaa!.:)

At the padang.

i was in cab, seeing the crowds getting ready, walking to wards the same direction...:) it was a beautiful sight. right then after depositing the baggages, went for the mobile toilets and tt's when i met jason. i rem his blur look. then we gathered at the bridge. to do our stretching and rubbing the deep heat. woo....ah! then had a short prayer. it was significant. i rem i pray that GOd be with us throughout the race, and we will have presonal breakthroughs through the race. i trust and i believe God answered. ee...about to start but we hvnt get to see Da jianming le....:)

Start.

Poy, joe, wilson, yicheng, jason, sandy and myself. we shaked hands and told each other: we'll mt at the finish line.

hee...overheard Xd saying to poy : mt u at ...after finish....hm, i asked : why u nvr say to me leh? must be thinking i will be super slow ya...well, it is also la...:P

i started running. i reminded myself not to forget to pray. :)

i was running with sandy. only saw XD, poy zoom zoom off....nowhere in sight liao. suddenly joe came from back and went past. he was nice enough to give me a smile and went ahead.

rem sandy was nice to ask me : it is ok?...knowing my condition...yea, i actually prayed that it would stop. hee...:P

i just run lo. it was helpful that we started in the wee mornign hrs , because i cannot see properly without my spectacles that i can only concentrated in running and keep ing my pace.

soon, i think i lost sandy somewhere.....was on my own. at the CBD area, two'tanned guys came up to me. they really look like they run a lot from their physical built, and somemore wearing sunglasses. hee. kinda of sandwiched by them, and one of them said: u are well-prepared , arnt you? hee, then i realised they are referring to the powergels showed at my back. only three mah...to think one dear bro got 7 lo!! :P was trying to run so didnt talk much with them, i only gave them a smile and replied them. then they zoom zoom off again.....

at 5km, when the daylight slowly showed....when the roads gets clearer....i was looking out for the kenyans on the other side of lane. sw a vehicle coming on, then the whole group of kenyans, mostly, srtiding as if no need of any strength....but they are so inspiring! wow!!! this was when yicheng came from my back and told me to look out....hee..i cant run with the kenyans, at least i can see them run....:P

the marina run was long....but i started to pray. because tt was one reason why i came. i prayed for dennis.....breakthrough...breakthrough....amen! eh, somehow i got a refreshment of strength after the prayer....amen! so i keep running...hm, but then i also realised i need toilet...but all the toilets have queues....long queues actually. so i prayed, God i cant see clearly, so help me to find a toilet. i just keep running....only after turn ard at marina, then i saw THE TOILET just beside the running road. i stopped, only 2pple infornt of me...yeah! relieved and started running again.....started to pray for kim....i just kept praying for her in heart, no words come out arelady, already panting by now. i rem at times, i just broke in tongues, hee, thankful not many people running beside me. otherwise they may think i have gone crazy. it was such a long run....i came out about 10km...11km..12km...do i need to eat huh? i though to myself, maybe i just contd to run....so i prayed for myself to contd on...it was already so amazing tyhat i kept running for 12km...which i had nvr did that before in my training. breakthrough. the prayers had helped me a lot! told myself to persevere, push myself to the longest. it was a competition within myself.

13km..17km....i was still praying for kim....when about to turn out toward the roads towards east coast. i was running across the bridge. a road marshal roller-bladed beside me....looking at me...i also dun know why...just smile and kept running...then only heard a guy from behind me asking the road marshal: give me a reason reason why i am here?!...to myself i thought: i came here to pray ya...but i dun kow about yours ....hee. a while later also came an old uncle....he ran past me and turn to say: enjoy. just enjoy.....

so i pick up my jogging steps agian and contd praying in heart...runnning for those i prayed. run and run...then i saw the 21km mark!!!!! yeah!!!! and i did it, running without major stops , other than the short ones i took to drink. BREAKTHROUGH. and i hvnt eat my powergel...breakthrough...and i think by then it was a whole 3hrs plus already...AMEN! God made it through with me!

somewhere from 21km on i had started to pray for shiming.....on and run and contd...i hvnt stopped. entering east coast....i pushed myself that to see until the 23km mark then i stop...by now, my legs are already aching, almost cramp...feeling so uncomfortable...no energy...even to eat my powergel...then i started to pray for june......even now i had minimal energy to "pray in my heart"liao....hao xin ku ya! eyes keep watching out for the 23km marker...its near...i rem then i literally took a stop...somewhere near the water station and took out the powergel to eat. argh! hao nan chi lo!thankful i took my xiaomei's suggestion to wait for water station to take my powergel...another medicine taking time...haha. :P

and eh, was it phychological or what, i actually had the engery to run on..so icontd.....but this time round, i can only concetntrating on running...no engery to pray...but God knows...

it was about, i think 25km or so...that i met joe. i had stopped to stretched my legs...he gave a heartwarming look, i knew he was asking me if i am ok....i gave to smile to assure him. and he awas at the other side of east coast lo! argh! :P running and walking....then i saw my xiaomei. it was she calling out my name then i realised. what?! she is so fast? she's at the other side too! so i thought the east coast loop shld be around ahead.....that spurred me a little, only a while later realised the loop is so far far away. then rain came.....wow! so nice. i rem at the bridge before we ran, i was saying how nice if it rained. then joe said stg like: no!....hee...:P rain is nice. memories of the running in the rain while at the army half amrathon-10km came. that was a paninful and good lesson learnt. here and now, i enjoyed it thoroughly. songs of praise and worship just came into my mind. rain- Holy Spirit rained on me.....wet, but i always loved the rain. i guess i was smiling while running...

when storms (rain) comes, remember, a rainbow will come after that.

i saw yicheng somewhere in front stopping to drink....i waved him a little, tt's all the engery i can do then. just signalled to him, keep running....and i run again....

it was a good draggy long 25km towards 35km at east coast.....mostly walk and jogging. i was at a point i literally closed my eyesalong the straigh east coast path, asking God to give me a vision because i am left with little motivation now. i had thoughts of walking all the way through to the end.... i rem at about the 32km, a big guy Caucasian, was walking beside me. He said: this is not the time to walk, u know. run! i give you 3secs...run..... oh no! what, run? okok, i try...and i actually started jogging again...i thought i do nt have the energy. AMEN! sometimes, perseverance can push the physical beyond.

was already walking, even walking was so difficult now. entering into marina promenade it was a long long journey. almost everyone around me were walking. i rem at a certain point, i almost sense the whoel atmosphere of tiredness, giving up, dragging etc.....i saw them walking super slow speed as mine...some stopped to sit at the benches alongside....thought came: when the marathon run is on, the ending is almost the most challenging part. the point to be so vulnerable and easily broken. i need to push myself. i have no more energy, but i can do what i can. to do my best to motivate them in such a way, that as i ran past them very slowly, to tell them its near. it can be done. i struggled, as we always struggled through our spiritual marathon, it was such painful, uphill journey...and amazingly, a few familar faces started to pick up their steps too! ( familiar because i was walking and jogging with them along the last 10km journey) i was very encouraged that without words, actions can motivate others too. i do not know whether it was really because of the initial jogging i started, but i am glad to see them to push themselves also, running their own race.

phew! fianlly the long awaited 41km....wanted to pick up running then but there was just no more strength. but i told myself to just finish it up to the best....42km....heard some cheering from sides..thought was the supporters...until i heard my name. saw poy. yeah, knew its near....saw XD and Joe too...:) so i started to jog towards the end. then an old ah bei came from behind. he was one of those who accompanied me along the way at marina promenade. wow, he ran beside me, took a look at me, , i return a smile. and we ran together to finish!!! AMEN!

DONE. went through. experienced. prayed. BREAKTHROUGH.

AFTER RUN

my legs wobbled...found a place to sit and stretched. sat there, until i can pick up my legs to walk again. my xiaomei came to chk if i was alrite. She gave an assuring word that it was a good timing for me...:P of course la, God ran with me. hee. i was only glad i can sit down finally.

return chip, collect t-shirt. thankful for poy to help me get the rest of stuff....went back to the 42km mark to join XD, joe. here, i also hit another amazing record personally, that i ate 3 bananas!! i was so so hungry ya. if not that i may "need go toilet" after eating bananas, i may just finish the whole bunch that poy gotten. hee...

we dragged to raffles city and went burger king! yeah, i rem along 30km+ i was actually thinking of eating burger king's burger, becoz i was so hungry then. :)

only aching at thighs, and bruised at my left feet that caused walking a bit difficult...but all is alright.

THankgivings

thank God who made a conviction in my heart after the army half marathon to ran for this marathon.

thank God who also ran with me.

thank God for poy, who assured me just at the point i was at deciding to go or not the night before.

thank God for Joe, XD who keep "pestering"me to join this marathon, that also factored in me joining this marathon.

thank God for sandy who keep her excitement so high that rubs off on me, that this race is His.

thank God for Jason, i rem pre ran, he said before: just go for the run, just "chiong"finish la.

thank God for YC: a good laugh to ease off my stress just before the ran. and made it all the more memorable with all your "power"gels!!!!! :P and of course, your sudden appearance at least 2 times while in the ran.

Thank God for the rain, which came so nice and appropraite. at least to me la.

thank God for the people who talked to me during the ran.

thank God for His songs to motivate me along the ran.

thank God for all the strength He has given me.

thank God it was a difficult ran, long enough to speak to me.

thank God that it is finish.

qtn: would i go again? unless its for a cause. :) if to merely break personal timing, i would not go. becoz so much time and effort needs to put in. not that i dun want to put in the time, just thought i need those time to do what i was made to do, to finish the work and the task i was called to do.

How can i ran my personal marathon when the marathon of God is undone? :) ( my own personal words)

of course, i am still interested in running ocassionally at east coast.etc.....will try to keep up my exercise once per week..hee.:P