It is my second marathon and my first lone marathon (i.e. no
club mates or friends to chat to along the way) so I will talk to myself
instead (Lazy's gone mad!). I studied at
the elevation profile one last time before I went to bed...
...and I thought: should be all right. It's downhill from the half way mark
right?
Pre-race:
I woke up at 3am after a restless night. I don't recall dreaming about anything
except waking up every 60 minutes or so to check the time. I was paranoid about
missing the race. And then comes 3am and five alarms went off simultaneously
like a choir. I then had my breakfast and coffee at 3:30am and walked around to
help "clear" my system. By 4:30am I got out of the shower and out the
door at 5:10am. Eventually I made it to the race site at 5:45am and almost
missed the baggage collection which was scheduled to close at 5:55am. HK
officials are extremely strict on their times as they must get the trucks over
to the finish line at Victoria Park before the elite runners start. If I attempt
this route again I should really leave at 4:45am. I also made a mistake of
forgetting my baggage bag (the blue plastic bag where you put your pack inside)
and only brought along my luggage tag so that was a bit dumb on my part. Glad
it didn’t rain much or I would have had a wet bag after the run.
The
temperature was in the low teens and humidity was 95%. Luckily there were some
wind (even though it was a headwind!) but it reduces the feel of the humidity
somewhat.
This duck dude started next to me and I haven't seen him since then...
There were also lots of people dressed up for the occasion -
there was a Monkey Magic guy (yes, he was carrying that stick the entire way!),
lots of sharks (supporters of the recent Shark Fin ban in HK), lots of people
in onesies, French maids, Ultraman, a Star Trooper and a Japanese dude who
dressed up as a duck and ran really fast. Good on them.
Did someone say...SHARK???
There
was a delay to the start of 6:10am - apparently the start arch deflated and
fell onto the elite group, which means the start was postponed to 6:15am. A
very fit looking elderly gentleman next to me started complaining to me about
the delayed start and how there are so many people doing the marathon now and
it annoys him...I didn't know how to respond so I just smiled. He was probably
a little stressed...
Apparently that giant inflatable arch fell onto the gun runners - I only found out just then at:
0-4ks. At the start I decided to aim for a 4:30 finish due to
today's humidity and the expected hilly route. After all, the Hong Kong
marathon is one of the toughest road marathons due to the undulating route
(very hilly!), the humidity (at least 75%), and largely un-scenic. So I started
the first 3k of my run at around 7min/k pace. It is a super slow pace (I am
sure my elite running 'friends' will be jeering at my "run" but remember
it’s - my race, my pace).
I was all the way at the back of my start group – I purposefully put myself
there so I won't get pushed to go fast at the start and burnt off too much of
my precious glycogen. People were passing me like no tomorrow but I am sure I
will pass some of them later on. Around 700m from the start there were a bit
of bush...immediately I see lots of gentlemen around me ran sideways and
undo their pants...I am pretty sure the plants on the side of the road will be
extremely well fertilized by the end of today...
4-8k. First drink station was at 4km. You
know what the funniest thing about the run so far? I can't even tell whether I
am going uphill or downhill. The roads were so wide and long...and you can’t
really tell you are going uphill until you see people higher than your eye
level in the horizon.
9-14k. Second drink station. I think I
have been going too slowly in the first 8ks. So knowing I am almost one quarter
through the run it is about time to pick up the pace a bit. 6:20min/k. After
the 10km mark you enter the first tunnel. I am so surprised the ventilation in
the tunnel was really good and it wasn’t stuffy at all. The volunteers along
the road were cheering on and providing the much needed mental energy too. A
massive thank to them. At the 13k point you will be at the Tsing Ma Bridge. Not
often you get to set your foot on this amazing bridge so I am soaking in every
moment. Visibility was also quite high today so I get to see the port and
cargos over the bridge. It's pretty amazing. After all, Hong Kong is one famous
port.
14-21k Third, fourth and fifth drink
station. There were so many drink stations you definitely will not get
dehydrated (I am assuming you do stop for a sip…). By now I have had my third
GU and I was on a sugar high and totally in rhythm. I am sitting around the same
pace, maybe dropping to 6:30min/k-ish at one stage, but I am quite happy just
to sit at this pace. There was the first turning point at around 15.2k and I
slowed down so I can turn exactly around the cone. I already ran 200 meters
more than I needed to so I really shouldn't run any more extra metres. There
are lots of people taking selfies at the 21k mark. I don't know why distance
markers were so interesting...
Water and isotonic drinks were so plentiful
21k to 25k. Nice. Another turn around point at the bridge. The
supposed downhill starts around here... My pace has slowly picked up averaging
6:00min/k and I have decided to stay at this rate. If I stay here I will finish
around 4:20, but that’s unlikely as I know there are some really steep inclines
towards the end of the run. There was also a third turn somewhere but I have
totally forgotten where it is now. Around the 22k mark you start to meet up
with the half marathon competitors. Here you ride off their energy. At that
point they are still fresh off the block at 8kms so they give you an awesome
mental boost.
26k to 30k. Still at 6:00min/k average.
Loving it. I have started singing Red
Light by Tiesto to myself.
The lyric doesn’t really make sense but I like how he mixes the beats in his
music. I also thought about the "Run for a Reason" theme this year -
what was my reason? Just for a bit of fun really. I honestly don't have any
other reason...
31k to 35k. Pretty much downhill here,
although knowing the dreaded 16% gradient hill out of the tunnel is coming
soon. I backed off my pace to 6:10mins/k to reserve some precious energy. I
called my sibling to say I am 70mins away - just before I hit the tunnel.
There’s a very obvious downhill towards the West Link Tunnel and it is my
favourite part of the run. At 32km I can see the sign toward the tunnel. Here I
shed a tear because there's only 10ks to go, and I know I am going to finish
the run.
Towards 35k the ventilation became really
bad and it was very stuffy. First time in the run my face was dripping sweat. I
am somewhat glad I have trained in the high Australian heat and humidity for
this race and the stuffiness didn’t bother me too much.
35.5k - And now that dreaded hill. Lots of
people have started walking…but I have conserved my energy for this moment to
run up this hill!
36k to 40k – At this point I can’t even
tell whether I am on flats or uphill. My quadriceps have started to hurt as
expected (I have been out there for 4 hours!) and I am not surprised they are
telling me they are in pain. At around 38k my sibling called me for my
whereabouts. I said I am at the IFC mall at Central.
No no I wasn't here to do some shopping...
40k to 42.195k. And then at the 41km mark there was a very steep hill.
People have started walking but I powered up this awful hill. My pace has picked
up to around 5:10min/k. It’s already 4:22 and I am set to finish just after
4:30. I believe all the training of finishing strong has paid off and I flew to
the finish, apart from a quick photo stop after spotting my family around 500
metres to the finish :D. I didn't manage to see my friends though but I know
they are there and I really wanted to finish the run off so I can give them all
a massive hug.
Finish line!
The green path is for marathon finishers...so organisers can put the finisher medal around our neck as we were all too knackered to even lift our fingers...
42.195 – Finish! The finish line was split into the 10k and half marathon
section, and a separate marathon section (so they can give you a medal at the
end). My official finish time was 4:35 and netted at 4:32 and I am over the moon.
Despite the hilly route, missed a month of training and running with no less than three injuries, I have
shaved a good 15 minutes off my last effort and I am so proud of myself.
...towards the finish line...
Star trooper dude...
Hot half naked dude...
...and here's the finisher medal! Until next time folks!
