my last run – the ekiden

after the incident from the uneventful half-marathon, i tend to be overly more cautious over my heartbeat rate, and the heat during runs. i skipped the penang bridge marathon (even though i walked with a limp, in my week vacation in penang), and went ahead with the 9 km brooks run and the swissotel vertical marathon.

my last run for the year was the ekiden run with my colleagues and bff. i waited for 3 and 1/2 hours, almost falling asleep while doing my dynamic stretching. i contemplated on visiting the restroom, feed myself with the pack of gel, then i spotted my team mate!

i was reluctant to pull ahead fast, stuck to my comfortable pace, and stop the moment i was gasping for oxygen. it would have been my slowest 7 km run. the total distance covered, after zigzagging my way among the full-marathoners – 7.67 km.

by the time i started the run, majority of the full marathoners were already walking, and the sun was high up. my handheld bottle of water was used mainly to cool myself down from the heat. i regretted on not gulping the pack of gel, and was feeling hot and out of energy after the ascent up the benjamin sheares bridge. majority of the last 6.8 km was without shelter, and the comfort zone was the stretch of road right after the descent from the bridge.

we were the last 4 team from the 1st to the 4th changeover stations, and managed to pick up the slack in the last 2 station, to complete at 260th position with a nett time of 5:41:51. it’s still an amazing feat, considering that majority of us did not train for the run. our target next time, if we manage to register a slot – 4.30 hours. 🙂