Celebrate Running

Celebrate running.

Grace grace for my marathon as i managed to come in 3hr 25mins.
faster than expected and i'm satisfied with my timing, given that it's my virgin experience, with minimal training and a lax diet.
when i say minimal training, i'm not referring to not running at all or running very little.
by His grace i completed 1 32km long run, and i was supposed to complete another 32km long run after i returned from china but i was so bored and so sick of running that i just told God "Lord i'm just going to stop running. it's not going to be based on how much i train anyway but your grace". That was the 28km mark that i stopped and i just walked home, enjoying the iced milo that i so craved for during that particular run.
the beauty of the marathon is indeed true as what those veterans say. you can just keep getting better over a distance of 42km.
this time round my tempo runs aren't that long, the type of intervals i did were also pretty standard, hence there's still so much more to mix and match in terms of training variety. the only thing now is to keep boredom at bay.

anyways, for the first part of the race, i just enjoyed my slow pace and just told Him to bless my run and celebrate running together with me.
the marina stretch was really never-ending, because all i had in my mind was to hit east coast park. that would be the 18km mark already.
i told myself not to think too much about the pace, cos it's just going to drain my mental focus that will be needed for the later part of the race.
thank God my army friend who was helping out at the race rode on his bike and paced me for a considerable stretch before fort road. that really took the monotony and fatigue off a little.
and while at east coast park, this particular male runner in tights was running ahead of me.
his pace was incredible, given that it's already more than 18km at this time.
i sorta drafted behind him and noticed that he only wore a ring stud on his right ear..hmmms...
we sorta exchanged leads at one time or another, till the part when i was at national stadium and he just sped off. when i saw him running at that pace, i could only guess that it's the result of marathon-pace training, whereby you run your last 30min of your long run at marathon pace to train your legs to run when they are fatigued.
well for me during my really long runs, i always tell myself to keep a marathon pace for the last 30min but when it comes to the crunch, i just kinda slow it down due to boredom and fatigue.
oh wells.
the last 5km of the run was excruciating. i kept on yearning for the finish line but it seems so far away. i really felt the physical and mental fatigue at this time and i didn't know i had a right hamstring till the last 5km of the race.i could just feel my right hamstring like a rock muscle popping with every stride i take.
Thank God there was no cramps and "hitting the wall" was minimized. maybe if i ran at a faster pace, hitting the wall would be even more pronounced.
fast forward to the finish, as i just strode home with a sense of relief and elation, a spirit of thanksgiving to God.

Celebrate running.