My first marathon - the complete saga

If everyman has their right of passage, i guess mine was to complete a marathon ( a grueling 42.195km run/walk) Heres a little history of the marathon :

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city, he collapsed dead tired. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides was a messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the actual distance from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens is about 34.5 km (21.4 miles).
(extracted from wikipedia)

Pre-Marathon report:
Wanted to hitch a ride down with SV, andy and gang but it turned out Andy's vehicle is full (which was not as andy did not know that the headcount number included me, miscommunication there)
So i decided instead to drove down like 3.30am in the morning. Picked up run3 at about 3.45am and reached the capitol carpark at about 4.10am. I guess i was alittle to 'kiasu' to come down that early. Since we are the earliest one to arrive , did a short recce of the area. Oh thanks reno for the wakeup sms... for the first time haha

at 5.15am , Meet the sgrunners at the de-chip tent next to the baggage deposit counter. Sotong, SV, cookie, shoobido, andy, reno and gang.

Marathon saga - episode 1 the first 20km
Music started pounding as the compere starts the countdown at the starting line pen. 3-2-1.. the horn rings out.. away the runners goes..(including me of coz)

Along the first leg i saw IMD snapping away with his camera before i lose sight of him, then Meteor along CBD area. The route to marina south was familiar as our adirun and RL run took the same route. Was still going strong at about 6min/km pace nothing much to note saw superboi, Cfred along the way.

Marathon saga - episode 2 the 20-30km
Saw fahmy, TLR , eddie along eastcoast on my return leg . Not to mention catwoman , spiderman and japanese fisherman in costumes haha. Theres tons of supporters along the east coast leg. Some giving away bananas , powergel and even chocolate bar. I must be having a buffet along this stretch. Spotted roonie on the grass patch attended by a medic seems like the cramps got to him. stopped awhile to check on him. At the SGrunners support station (manned by jamesoh, roonz, KJ, FD, alecchua ..thanks guys) i had my powergel and isotonic drink. Brokie was there during that brief stopover. Wanted to stay longer but KJ keep on pushing me to go..oh well..

Marathon saga - episode 3 the last 10km
Well they say you will hit the wall at about 30km and beyond. I gotta say that it should not be hitting the wall , mentally i was alright but my leg muscle contraction is the problem (thats what they call the cramps!) . So i did a couple of stretches along this leg. As i was having the flu stopping and snorting out the mucus was a must. The stretch to the padang was the most unforgettable i can remember every detail of that scene from the look on the spectators face, expression to the cheers of the crowd, compere . Almost like i was in the Olympics.




Big thanks to sgrunners i have achieve what i have set out to do ..their advice and knowledge had helped. Now plan for recovery Swim, jacuzzi and steam room tomorrow!



Facts
Took 1 performance bar, 4 power gel , 1 proteinplus bar , 1 banana , 1 bottle endurance drinks/hydration salt.

Timing
Gun time : 4hr 24min 54s
Chip time : 4hr 23min 6s
Pace : 6min 14sec /km