After a hectic post-exam schedule - involving DnD, Taiwan and orientation - I returned to running, suffering tremendously. Despite it being barely 2 weeks of interruption of my usual lifestyle, my running fitness had plunged.
Run for Life was looming within a week post-orientation and I certainly did not feel very prepared for it. Yet all I could do was hope that I could recover from the unusual schedule and regain as much fitness as I could in time. This race was special because it was the first "charity" race I was about to participate in this year.
Come race day, a poor night's rest was certainly not encouraging. Furthermore, I woke up with mildly aching glutes for an unknown reason. Nonetheless, under existing circumstances, my expectations were considerably lowered.
After my dad gave Joel, Joanna and I a lift to ECP, we hurriedly deposited our belongings and proceeded to find Ben and Jia Jun. It was certainly nice to have the company of friends due to the light-hearted nature of conversations.
"Look at the guy behind me, I think he's gonna be the top few," I remarked at a Gurkha (who eventually placed 3rd).
"Well he's behind you uh-huh?" quipped Ben.
The race was not crowded. I'm estimating 2000-odd participants (combined male and female) in the 10km Competitive Category, though there were other categories such as the kids dash for various ages. These were races I loved at the start because it meant there was no need to squeeeeze to the front through daunting crowds. In fact, as we entered the pen and after a quick prayer, we found ourselves easily inching towards the start. I left the others as I attempted to move even closer to the front - perhaps 5m from the start.
Just before 7.30am, we were flagged off. Aware of my existing circumstances, I deliberately started off slowly, possibly running a 4:15 pace which was slower than my intended pace of about 4:12 (translating into 42 minutes flat). As with every race, a multitude (well not exactly in this small race) of runners started off quickly but as the minutes rolled by I passed many. It was shocking as I passed the 1km marker at 4:45, a good 30seconds off my estimated pace. Judging from my effort, I was certain the marker was incorrectly placed (this was confirmed by checking with other runners after the race who measured the first marker between 1.1-1.2km on their GPS watches).
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| Just after flag off. Credit to Run Mo Cap. |
The 2km marker was passed around 9:15. I was quite certain I had stuck to a 4:15 pace, hence I knew once again that the marker was incorrectly placed. I immediately recognised that it would not be possible to attain my goal time, but I decided to stick to the pace and run a satisfying race for this worthy cause. As with many other races, I found a gentleman running alongside me and suggested we run together. "If I can," was his humble reply.
The first hydration point was probably around 2.5km and the 3km marker was passed in the mid 13s. We then approached the Uturn point. The front runners had already made their turn and were speeding past us in the opposite direction along the same running path (3m in width). Before long, we made the turn as well and passed the 5km marker in about 22:30.
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| After the U-turn. Credit to SG Running Photos. |
Now running in the opposite direction from the masses, Jiajun and Joel were the first faces I recognised and they shouted words of encouragement as we passed. Shortly after, I caught sight of a lady in pink in the distance ahead (running in the same direction as us) whom I suspected to be Mok Ying Rong. Running (or rather, walking) opposite came Ben and Joanna just before the 6km mark. If I recall correctly, we passed Ying Rong around the 6km marker. This was quite a thrill because Ying Rong was capable of sub-40 10kms. However, unfortunately for her, this clearly did not seem to be her day. As I glanced at my watch, the time read 26:00. Once again, this highlighted incorrect placement of the marker (relative to the 5km) as we certainly did not run a 3:30 km.
At 7km, I saw 30:00. Was the extra ground that we covered in the first half now being compensated for in the latter half? Unfortunately not, as my calculations of running the final 3km within 12:00 were unnecessary as the 8km was once again incorrectly placed as we crossed it in about 35+. This was certainly discouraging and I'm certain I slowed. It was a constant battle, reminding myself of the prayer I prayed to do my best while recognising that my best not enable me to attain my time goal for this run. We continued onwards, still sticking together - I was certainly grateful for him.
As we passed 9km, the time probably read 39+ and I was certainly exhausted. I told the gentleman to go ahead and sensing I was beginning to slow, he told me to stick with him. Gradually, he pulled a gap, albeit a small one, eventually reaching about 10m. Upon the final straight however, I managed to muster a new lease of energy as I surged along the 200-300m, passing him and nearly catching another male runner in the final 20m who frantically sprinted upon sensing my presence.
44:16 read my watch. Certainly not the most satisfying times, but an encouraging effort. As I received the post-race nutrition (100 plus, a bottle of water and a banana), the volunteers informed me that I was the 12th placed male, though I suspect I placed around the 15th based on race photos.
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Along the final straight; the gentleman who I ran with through much
of the race and eventually overtook. Credit to Yeo Kim Song. |
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| Continuing the chase. Credit to Yeo Kim Song. |
Fun fact: I believe I was the first runner wearing the Official event-tee to cross the finish!
Though I found no problems with the organisation of the race, I believe this was largely due to the small participation numbers in the 10km competitive category. Furthermore, runners towards the front often are unable to detect any logistical issues such as hydration points running out of fluids etc. Kudos to Hivelocity for well labelled directions, though this was marred by the inaccurately placed distance markers (with the total distance amounting to about 10.4km based on other runners' GPS watches). The post-race carnival was certainly well organised and with much catered to kids' enjoyment (such as free ice cream).
As I waited for the others to complete their races, I saw Jaselyn who was bringing kids around to give "Thank you" cards to participants. In addition, I had a quick chat with a gentleman named Jonathan. I accurately guessed that he was a triathlete and the brief conversation that ensued provided us with some knowledge of how each other trained. One thing I figured was that people are generally friendly after races - sports trains the heart and warms the heart. Seizing these moments provide invaluable opportunities to learn from various athletes about their sport.
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| The 5 of us (Ian actually forgot about the race) 94s. |
As of 25 July, race results are out! Unfortunately my results are not accessible. If this issue is not resolved, it would be the second incident (of two) this year whereby Hivelocity has failed to provide an accurate and complete result. However, at present, I'm still awaiting the Customer Service Team's assistance in retrieving my results and I do hope they do not fail to deliver ~
As of 6 August, race results have yet to be finalised for my bib number. Based on a logical estimation (using the timing of the gentleman I overtook and another whom I failed to overtake), gun time should be about 44:10. Nett time could possibly be about 44:05. Converted to a distance of 10km, I'm estimating a finishing time of about 42:25 which would have been a new PB. Till next time though, when an accurate distance and timing can be measured. I am in no hurry :)
Update - 5th September 2014. After repeated emails and Facebook messages to Hivelocity's team, with a query on how to lodge an official complaint, they have finally re-updated my race timing (the first time they updated it was 46:48 with no race ranking) - I believe still inaccurately, though within 5 seconds. The reason why I was so insistent on them producing an accurate race timing or admitting their inability to do so (as opposed to falsifying one - which I felt they did when they displayed the 46:48 time) was because of my poor experience of Hivelocity's delivery of service according to its terms and conditions (previous poor experience -
Sundown Marathon 2014 whereby my time was possibly inaccurate as well). I believe that a service provider - be it for a running race or for anything else - should deliver according to their terms and conditions. I do understand the potential for errors to emerge due to the failure of men/machines. If that is the case, the failure to deliver has to be acknowledged instead of an attempt to cover up.
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| Their first grossly incorrect update of the race timing, while also lacking a rank. |
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The second update, still incorrect when referenced to the finishers directly
before (44:07) and after me (44:12), unless their results were incorrect as well.
Rank across the board should be 18, (or for males only, 15). |
