It was a pretty exciting day on 19 May 2018 – a day which I’m sure many people have counted down to, myself inclusive because it’s the day of the Sundown Marathon 2018 in Singapore!
Was already rearing to go and was pretty eggcited as the time flew on this day! Woke up, had my lunch/leftover dinner and then prepped to get out! Oh and indulge in a few narcissistic selfies in my new runner singlet of course – my first lol.
I signed up for the Sundown Marathon with Jx and Mr J earlier in the year when I was still working and we agreed to meet up at Promenade MRT at 830pm!
Didn’t really know what to expect as my only other marathon that I’ve experienced was my Great Eastern Women’s Run last year and it was pretty decent. This is a bigger scale one and boy was it like a festival ground when I first laid my eyes on it at the F1 pit building!
Of course before starting the race, it was time for photo taking. Lol I know I look quite slim and fit here but trust me, it isn’t Hahahaha, I have tummy fats and unsightly bulges which I hid using the right photo angle and a practiced move of using my bag to cover them + hide behind my friend LOL 🤣
They had a workout thing going on before the 10km pen was open! Wanted to do the warm ups too but you gotta buy the mat or you’ll be doing push-ups / planks on the rocky pavement so I obviously skipped that. Instead, we lounged and watched the “show” instead like the lazy buggers we were lol.
The 10km pen was finally open and we proceeded to head in after that! But okay, I didn’t expect such a turn out – was wondering where all these people were until we walked out and saw a HUGE SEA of people doing the 10km together! That was insanely a HUGE number of people but luckily we are split into “waves” so it wasn’t THAT crowded to run.
The waiting time can be pretty long though depending on which wave you are in. The first wave flagged off at 10pm and by the time it got to our 3rd wave where we were at – it was around 1020pm!
We were entertained by DJs spinning club beats and a great emcee to build up the energy – though for a moment, sometimes it feels like you’re in a club rather than a marathon! That was cool though and I found myself super excited and grooving to the beat. Yeah I don’t need alcohol to “get high” on that 😂😂
I shared snippets of it on my IG stories – which is totally why you should follow me on Instagram if you’re not already doing so for such BTS and live coverage lol.
Anw so at 1020pm, I was one of the many faces that took our place at the starting line of the OSIM Sundown Marathon 2018. Indeed, sleep can wait for us even though we are running but a mere 10km. In fact, I was planning to walk it lol – making it more of a walkathon vs marathon lol.
Runners of all shapes, sizes, genders, race and even countries lined up at the starting line just waiting for the flag off and it was an intense moment as everyone counted down to the final few seconds.
And then, everyone was OFF!
All three of us parted ways then as we all had different goals in taking part of this marathon and I guess, we are all very independent individual in general. Plus our running speed differs greatly – Mr J is the fastest because of his long(er) legs, Jx likes to do her own thing and me? Well as I said, I was planning on walking mainly. We were like kkthxbye see y’all at the finish line and contact each other after. Okay that was for Jx. That annoying Mr J just ran on ahead solo without a word and I was like okay, go bye. Lol I think sometimes I’m a very chill girlfriend. Or learning to be.
In general, that’s the beauty of choosing to run as a solo sport. In this way, you don’t necessarily have to keep pace / compete / slow down / keep up with anyone – just do your own thing. Err but I guess it also depends on who you hang with. Some people like to pace together to encourage one another etc etc but of course, there’s no wrong or right. It’s just a personal preference.
On my end? I too, prefer to do things following the beat of my own drum (most of the time), don’t like the competition (because I believe the only competition you should have is yourself) and just fully savor the moment.
Everyone has a reason for joining the marathon and I guess mine is for the experience! I didn’t really run much, generally walked more. What I did was mainly was to enjoy the beautiful night view of Singapore while living in the moment. There were so many places we ran/walked by that I haven’t been to! I actually ran and focused on the race at the start but as time went on, I realized how much it would be a pity if I were to be absorbed in my world/focused on the race and not admire the place I’m passing by but that’s just me. Of course if I run the same route daily then perhaps I wouldn’t think that way la but it was my first time.
Oh and I didn’t wear my earpiece at all during my race cos I forgot to bring my other phone where all my current jams were downloaded on. Sad but it was a better experience without being self absorbed in my music while running la.
Also stopped at every single stop to take a drink and stroll with my Pocari Sweat in hand. I walked when I wanted to and ran only when I wanted to. No pressure cos ultimately we’ll all get there to the finish line anyway so no point exerting excess energy.
But I tell ya, my writer’s mind was in total overdrive with so many things that I wanted to pen down during this marathon. I was even so bloody tempted to do a vlog to capture all my thoughts but okay nvm, decided not to do so. HAHHAHA
You know, my legs or body weren’t aching during the race. Instead, what ached more was the muscles on my face from grinning widely in joy throughout this entire race. I really relished the freedom and the experience!
Surprisingly though I walked mainly, I was eventually faster than Jx in terms of timing. Well, I walk relatively fast la (despite le short legs) even though I strolled quite abit lol. We both reached the finish line minutes away from each other.
She actually caught up with me at the last leg and we were strolling together for the last 1km. Decided to sprint at the last last bit to the finish line but she couldn’t keep up with me so thats why I finished earlier than her (wahhahahaha).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi_MlhYHHBp/?taken-by=mitsueki
Just to mention that it wasn’t a 10km race after all as it got extended by 700m and it was 10.7km instead!
Regardless, this was my first time EVER completing a 10km race/walk and I feel so proud of myself for doing it with my own two feet. It’s a personal achievement after all and the timing doesn’t matter to me as long as I get there.
And obviously Mr J was way faster than us – he finished the race almost 15 mins ahead of us and was doing his own thing when we messaged him that we were done.
Jx and I just sat and chilled under the tree while waiting for him. That was when I took my first selfie with my hard earned medal; albeit walking but that’s not the main point la hahaha. Our other “rewards” after the race (other than the medal) included a bottle of Ice Mountain, a can of Pocari Sweat and a banana. For the former 2 – they are obviously sponsors for the race (duh). Speaking of which, I’ve never drunk Pocari Sweat in my life but I drank at least 7-8 cups during this race. Not too bad.
Mr J and I also availed ourselves to the food/snacks sold by the food trucks set up at the F1 pit after we bid our goodbyes to Jx! Food’s pretty meh and I would preferred a Mac but this is more convenient.
Of course before we left, we also had to take photos with our medals at the photo points. All for memories sake – the usual been there done that thing.
Overall, it was an unforgettable night all in all and I’m really glad to have experienced my first Sundown together with Jx and of course, with Mr J (in a way) hehe.
By the way, it took me 1 hour 45 mins or so by walking/running to complete the 10.7km if you were wondering. The flag off was at 1020pm or so! Finished at around 12am+! Love how I could see my official time instantly using the Sundown Marathon app! 😀
Most importantly – I’m so happy to say that my mission is accomplished!
☑ First 10km done
☑ First Sundown Marathon completed
☑ First marathon with friends
☑ First marathon with Mr J (kinda)
Random – you know what’s sweet though? Teehee, him putting my name down as his emergency contact. Aww, I saw it when I was helping him remove his race tag. Lol relationship level up maybe? Lol 😂
The only downside to this race is removing my shoes after to find that I have runner’s toes. Noooo – my poor toes! Realized I might have this foot disorder called Morton’s toes maybe?
Lol self diagnosed from Google but I could be wrong. Speaking of toes – it led me to this article on foot reading. You can read it here and here for fun cos it’s pretty interesting. But do take it with a pinch of salt ya lol.
Anyway that’s it for this post! Thanks for reading y’all(:
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Till later,
♥ mitsueki
