My Singapore Half Marathon Experience

I’m sitting here trying to organize my thoughts and I don’t know where to start. How can one find the words to share such an amazing experience, one that occurred in a little over two hours, but forever changed the way I think about myself and the way I will view life? How can one explain how one race in a new city among friends allowed me to experience camaraderie, selflessness, passion, determination, and humility in its truest form so much so that my finishing time—the focus of so much of my attention prior to the race—was of little importance in the end?

Here’s my story but let it be known that this is but a small fraction of the entire race experience:

5:15 AM
Together with Aljo and Jun, I had arrived at the race assembly early and sat by the river behind The Fullerton Hotel as the full marathoners awaited their 5:30 AM race start along Esplanade Drive. We listened from afar as loud, upbeat music and two super hyper DJ’s welcomed all of us 48,000 runners.

I was in relaxed mode, unperturbed over my own 21k, even as the blowing of the horns marked the start of the marathoners and I wondered how Annie, Ben, Coach Jo-Ar, Kim, Glenn, Coach John, and all my other Pinoy friends would do.

5:30 to 6:00 AM
I visited the portalet three times. Did my warm ups and stretches. Gobbled down 1 Vanilla Bean GU gel. Bid Aljo good luck in his 10k. Jun and I then proceeded to the starting line for half marathoners. Still in relaxed mode.

Our “good enough” target was 2:15, but our secret target was sub-2. We hoped to run at 5:40 pace to finish at 1:59. We weren’t sure if it was achievable, but it was worth a try.

6:00 to 6:30 AM
In the darkness before dawn, we stood along Esplanade Drive along with the sea of half marathoners from various parts of the world. The bright yellow spotlights against the backdrop of the dark sky combined with the loud music and excellent hosting made this feel like the biggest show on earth, or at least, the biggest show of my entire life (and to think I was just running the half.) I was completely consumed by this moment; it was wild yet magical, noisy yet serene, communal yet personal, and beyond what I ever imagined this race could be. Jun and I hardly exchanged words, but I do remember telling him something like “Even if we don’t hit sub-2, it will be fine.” At that point, I just felt fortunate to be running the race no matter how I finished.

20 seconds before the race started, the music and Dj’s were silenced. There was not a sound—not a whisper nor a cough—from any of the runners. Then, the horns broke through the stillness and we were off.

Km 1 to 3
I felt like I was going off to war. The steps of a thousand runners hitting the pavement every single second sounded like marching soldiers, and were almost lined up in rows with elbows and arms hitting one runner to the left or right. It was crowded and slow. At one time, I panicked when I saw our pace hitting 7:30 but what could we do. Jun and I spent most of our energy overtaking runners one at a time unable to reach our desired pace.

Km 4 to 8
The crowd eased up as we made our way to wider roads. Our pace increased to 5:35 to 5:40 and Jun and I hardly spoke to each other. I was feeling strong and was enjoying the run. The weather was perfect with cloudy skies and occasional winds blowing on our face.

By this time, I started feeling slight knee pain but I refused to acknowledge it. Jun asked how I was doing and I told him I was completely fine.

Km 9
I took my 2nd GU gel with no water station in sight…big mistake. As we entered Nicoli Highway, my thoughts were just on water or anything else to down the gel that lined my entire throat.

Km 10-12
The GU gel worked its usual wonders on me. Suddenly, I felt fresh and strong, as if I had just started the race. My knee pain would go in and out, but it was manageable.

At one point, we spotted Coach Rio, who also ran the half, on the opposite side of the highway making his way back already. He was in great running form, his hair bouncing up and down, sporting a big smile on his face and he had but a couple of runners around him. He waved at us and we yelled back cheering for him. The sight was amazing. A Filipino making it to the front pack of runners. Kulang nalang hawak niya ang bandila ng Pilipinas.

It was around this time that we agreed to put on our ipod shuffles. Well, we weren’t talking much anyway. This race was much more intense than our New Balance kwento pace.

Sometime during the run, Jun glanced at his Garmin and said “We won’t make sub-2.” I repeated what I said in the race start “Oh, that’s fine Jun.” But, little did he know that it pushed a little button inside me to speed up and still attempt to make up for a very slow start.

With almost fresh legs from GU, I found my rhythm and ran at a steady pace. As for Jun, who is a stronger runner than I am, I pretty much knew something was wrong when he started slowing down. I only learned after the race that, by this time, he was already cramping and feeling a bit of pain in his hamstrings. We parted ways somewhere around this area.

Km 13 to 19
If I thought I could make it to sub-2, this portion, especially the latter part, pretty much blew all my hopes for it.

It was at this point when my knee pain intensified and I wasn’t sure if I would finish. Each step was painful and I wondered if I should push it. I then recalled what Glenn told me during our carbo loading party at Kim’s the night before. He told me that he talks to his injury and asks it to behave. I laughed it off then, but with the pain increasing, I thought it was worth a shot.

So, I started repeating words such as “C’mon, let’s go knee,” “Behave, knee” or “Goodbye knee pain” over and over in my head. And, believe it or not, it worked! Talk about the power of the mind!

During the latter part of this race, I didn’t see the roads nor the people around me. The pain would drift in and out and all I remember now is the physical pain on my left knee and the mental battle to make it subside every single time it appeared. It was long and tough and tiring but I never succumbed, never even stopped to walk unless it was to sip water at the station.

Km 19/ 20
I was running at below 6:00 for the last few kilometers despite the knee pain. I was pretty confident I’d finish the race. Then, as I made a turn at one point, my knee locked and I couldn’t straighten it. I thought to myself “Noooo, not now! Please let me finish!” I didn’t stop but plodded on using the strength from my right leg to carry me through. It was pure hell, but thankfully, after a minute or so, the pain subsided and I resumed my regular run.

Km 20 – 21.5
As I made my way along Esplanade Drive towards the finish line, a quick glance at my watch told me that I was past my secret sub-2 goal. But, as I learned early on in the race, it didn’t matter. So many thoughts were floating about in my head at this time, but all were positive.

I was practically smiling from inside as I couldn’t have been prouder of myself for finishing the race despite the circumstances. It was only when I was forced to endure such a challenge that I actually learned how tough I was.

During the last hundred meters, I even managed to sprint to the finish. When I crossed the finish line, for the first time ever, I raised both hands up in the air and felt like a real winner.

My official time based on chip: 2:08:35
My garmin time | distance | pace: 2:08:31 | 21.52 km | 5:58 min/km

Next post: Pre and post race photos with friends…

Posted on 12.09.08 to 02 Race Reports, Favorite Posts. Tags: Races, Singapore marathon. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 42 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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42 Responses to “My Singapore Half Marathon Experience”

congratulations!!!! ur such an inspiration

Thanks tedi!

tedi said on Dec 09 08 at 1:01 PM Reply
If it was not for the slow start and knee problems, I am sur eyou would have done a sub 2. How did Jun do? Congrats on your half and this even ina another country yipeeeee.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Philip. See Jun’s comment below…

Philip said on Dec 09 08 at 1:12 PM Reply
Im so happy for you. you deserve it all. The best christmas gift to yourself. next year a marathon !!!!!!!!

Thanks Pat! Crossing my fingers about the full next year. I want to make sure my knees are strong enough and this doesn’t happen again!

runningshield said on Dec 09 08 at 1:28 PM Reply
Thanks for bringing us there. I can picture in my mind the grand Fullerton hotel and the calm Singapore river by the Boat Quay. Thank you too for sharing your story. I suppose our true greatness lies in our ability to rise above adversity. We runners probably run the distance to remind ourselves of that greatness. Congratulations on your moment of greatness

Thanks ricov! Very well said. This race was so much more fulfilling because of the challenges I had to overcome to finish it.

ricov said on Dec 09 08 at 1:31 PM Reply
You have nice pictures to boot too! Congratulations. It seems like you ran a strong mental marathon too with that nagging pain just before the first half of the race.

Thanks tina! I think the mental part was even more important than the physical strength.

Tina said on Dec 09 08 at 1:35 PM Reply
thanks for sharing your half marathon experience. congratulations!

Thanks moomba!

moomba said on Dec 09 08 at 1:38 PM Reply
Proud of you. Ano, 42k na tayo!

Thinking about it. The knee is an issue i have to address first BSM.

marga said on Dec 09 08 at 1:41 PM Reply
Nakakainggit ka naman Jaymie. That was really a nice recap.

Sama ka next time ha!

Taki said on Dec 09 08 at 2:00 PM Reply
awesome jaymie really…congrats again…you top the charts for being an inspiration to runners here and abroad…you really are THE one and only BULLRUNNER!!!

Mon, thanks! Will i be seeing you on Saturday for Sunset Marathon?

mond said on Dec 09 08 at 2:26 PM Reply
congrats jaymie, buti na lang mas matigas ulo mo kesa sakit ng knees.

Hahaha! Kailangan matigas ang ulo para matapos, diba?!

bards said on Dec 09 08 at 2:32 PM Reply
hi,

congratulations on your finished! di man sya sub 2 at least you finished it…
ingat po at god bless…sana ok na yung knee nyo

Thanks jhunie!

jhunie16 said on Dec 09 08 at 3:08 PM Reply
My heart was beating so fast while reading your story Jaymie. I prayed for your injury-free run and I know God has a purpose for putting you in such unstable situation. Congratulations for finishing (and even sprinting) after the pain that you had to endure.

Congrats too to your room mate and running partner Annie.

And to everybody who ran in Singapore, congratulations! You make us truly proud.

Thank you so much Nora! It was so sweet of you to call long distance before the race! It meant a lot. See you soon

Nora, the golden girl said on Dec 09 08 at 3:31 PM Reply
Thank you very much for sharing this Jaymie. I think and I believe that we learn much more from racing with these kinds of adversities than a PB worry-free run
BTW, your picture at the end of the race….priceless

Ate Virgie, salamat!

levyang said on Dec 09 08 at 4:46 PM Reply
Coongrats Jaymie! You are truly bullheaded when it comes to running! Rest up and see you in training!

PC, di lang sa running hehe. Ikaw bullheaded when it comes to treating

prometheuscometh said on Dec 09 08 at 4:47 PM Reply
congrats jaymie! junc was right, all of you who ran in Singapore ran with your heart being the strongest asset of all!

Thanks vimz! JunC, Annie, and I were very emotional after the race. Papaiyakin mo nanaman kami niyan

Vimz said on Dec 09 08 at 5:36 PM Reply
ooopsss! baka magulat ka, the post above is from me. did not notice that the default details are still marga’s and was not able to change it. see you soon jaymie!

vimz said on Dec 09 08 at 5:40 PM Reply
The part about your knees was quite suspenseful and scary! Congratulations and hope your knees feel better soon.

Oh yes, parang horror story haha. See you soon Dindo!

DATC said on Dec 09 08 at 5:45 PM Reply
great stuff… congratulations!

Thanks loony!

loonyrunner said on Dec 09 08 at 6:05 PM Reply
can you hear the fulls knocking?

bring it on!

cheers!

Wait lang…I hear my knees buckling.

bugobugo said on Dec 09 08 at 7:44 PM Reply
Hey pacemate, I’m happy for you! Even though we did not reach our “secret target”, it was still a great race and wonderful experience. Sabi mo nga, the will to finish and the power of the mind was in us that day. Hooray to all of our friends who finished the Singapore Marathon! See yah

Thanks Philip, Had that excruciating pain at km12 that I needed to stop to massage my cramped muscle and do some stretching. I have to slow down from then on and took a break every 2k to stretch and massage my calf until the cramp loosens. Despite the circumstances, my time was still within our “good enough” target. See you bro!

Hey pacemate, it was an unforgettable experience! Thank you for being our navigator, photographer, bodyguard, kargador, confidante, advisor and many more. I don’t know what Annie and I would’ve done without you! Here’s to many more years of running abroad. Hopefully our pagkakuripot will allow us to save enough moolah for our future race expeditions

JunC said on Dec 09 08 at 8:00 PM Reply
Wow! Congratulations…you deserve another jar of virtual cookies! But take note, be careful with that knee of yours See you soon!

Cougcat, thanks! Do you know there was a kids’ dash?

cougcat said on Dec 09 08 at 9:09 PM Reply
Congrats, TBR! Amazing, Standard Chartered runs noh? See you in HK this Feb? Hehe. I finally ran 42k also last Sunday in Sing, and it was also an experience that one can’t put into words. I was aiming for 4:45, but boy-oh-boy. was that time an ambitious time… I hit around 5:16.

Anyway, hope to see you in one of the future 42 km runs in StanChart! =P

Wency, sayang we didn’t get to meet. Hey your time isn’t bad considering it was so crowded. Your running HK?

Wency said on Dec 09 08 at 9:12 PM Reply
congrats!

Thanks galwin!

Galwin said on Dec 09 08 at 9:25 PM Reply
Congratulations Jaymie, rest easy, enjoy the triumph.

Thanks run unltd.

run unltd. said on Dec 09 08 at 10:17 PM Reply
That was a great run and recap, congrats Jaymie! I will be running my first half in HK next year and I have pretty much the same time goals as you did. So how did it change your view on life?

Carlo, good luck! You know your area well so that’ll be an advantage.

How did it change my view of my life? I’ll just put it this way. How we runners act in a race pretty much demonstrates how we’ll perform in life as well. Before Singapore, I slowed down or stopped at the slightest sign of pain, run to the doctor and pray to God he wouldn’t make me stop running.

The pain in Singapore was the worst I’ve ever experienced. But this time I toughened up. The thought of quitting never even crossed my mind, I didn’t allow it to. The whole race was more of a mind game than a physical one.

Now, apply that one race experience to life and when I think of it everything seems so much more achievable. I realized that everything you want is really within your grasp if you just set your mind to it. As Oprah once said, “the more fit you are, the more you feel you are in control of your own destiny.” That’s exactly how I feel now…not that I’m super fit hahaha

Carlo said on Dec 09 08 at 10:50 PM Reply
Congrats Jaymie. Full marathon na tayo!

Thanks!

ibetlacbay said on Dec 10 08 at 12:10 AM Reply
Congrats! Wow! Galing you did it despite the pain. I guess the knee needs to rest. See you in school soon.

The knee has rested. It’s ready to go again hahaha. I just need to do more stretching and strengthening around the knee to prevent this.

Mayi said on Dec 10 08 at 8:53 AM Reply
Congratulation on conquering Sing half! =)

Thank you!

moljcy said on Dec 10 08 at 9:13 AM Reply
Hi BR – Congratulations!!!

Like you Tiffin really enjoyed this race and the pre/post race shopping. She was so happy to be running with so many people and it felt like a stroll in the park. A loooong stroll. It was her longest race so far. The only minus was the lock of her Nathan got broken.

Regards Mark & Tiffin

Congrats to both of you! Were you able to have your post race breakfast?

m8parco said on Dec 10 08 at 10:02 AM Reply
ur mind-over-matter (or mind-over-knee) approach is very
interesting. might try it sometime when i need it… btw, look
what i found

“For the record, you were ahead of about
83% of male finishers.”

“From 13kTurn to Finish – You passed 307
runners. And 34 passed you.”

http://www.runpix.biz/sin08/21/finord.php?LastName=34556&lan=&aset=0

Thanks backpacker! Try it! Pero isipin mo lang ha, don’t say it aloud.

backpacker said on Dec 10 08 at 11:05 AM Reply
your dad must be gazing at you with pride, as we all are!

Aaaw thanks Mikey. Actually, my dad must be up in heaven saying “Sinabi ko na sa iyo masama ang running sa tuhod eh. Tigas ng ulo ng anak ko!” hehe

mikey said on Dec 10 08 at 11:47 AM Reply
Congrats Jaimie, on to the next run..

Thanks Sundaywarrior!

sundaywarrior said on Dec 10 08 at 12:09 PM Reply
Your smile showed that you had fun.
so what’s next on your list?

Christy, naku, I wish I could say I’m ready for a marathon by Feb, but I have to sit down and think about it. I don’t want to have to struggle through 42kms of knee pain. Let’s see what happens…

Christy said on Dec 10 08 at 12:44 PM Reply
congrats on the 21K. More run and stories to tell.

Thanks jinoe!

jinoe said on Dec 10 08 at 2:26 PM Reply
congra!! you made it! i suppose to go there, but wrong time. Sigh

thanks lester!

Lester said on Dec 10 08 at 3:23 PM Reply
TBR,
Congratulation. It’s always interesting reading your post recap. and yes, lots of lesson to learn. full marathon is coming…

Thanks high altitude!

highaltitude said on Dec 10 08 at 9:17 PM Reply
thanks for sharing this, bullrunner! congratulations!!! i talk to my leg pains too and it does work. hope to see you again in the nike running clinic.

Hi Lara, see you at nike clinic. Let’s chat after we talk to our legs..hahaha

lara said on Dec 10 08 at 11:51 PM Reply
Congratulations!!! I hope someday I could also run the half.

x59, thanks! Of course you’ll run your own half soon!

x59 said on Dec 11 08 at 2:41 PM Reply
Makes it much more sweeter to have finished with a bit more challenge..

No Sacrifices… No Rewards…

Agree!

onemelc said on Dec 11 08 at 3:57 PM Reply