Inspired by Melissa’s post, without too much thinking these are things that come to mind:
- The solo hotel room stay, like winning a lottery. I’ve stayed in hotel alone for so many times but didn’t appreciate it as much as this time. Maybe because I feel like I won $1500 lottery.
- The runners’ party. Since the arrival to the hotel, to the briefing, to the starting line, it felt a big party of obsessive runners getting together.
- Being surprised by how young many runners are. Like in their 20s. Is marathon becoming trendy? Also they are all so put together, the outfit, hair, makeup, like going to a party where they will be photographed.
- Everyone is a pro. From the shoes, to throw away clothes, to the bag with a blanket for the wait time, gels, patches. Everyone was so well prepared. No novice in this race.
- The long waiting time to start. Never did I start a race so late nor had to wait for so long. That was my least favorite part of the race.
- The nerve and excitement when finally we could run, after such a long wait time. Also the scene of the first 2 miles was amazing. Although the bridge was steep, I was just happy to be running there.
- Mile 8 when clearly I had a cramp that is not fading. Yet I was still hopeful it will pass, I just needed to hang in there.
- Mile 18 when I was dehydrated and out of energy. The medical tent people was nice but told me there’s little they can do, other than offering water Gatorade ice and ibuprofen. I left feeling disappointed.
- The final big vomit at 25.5 miles after which the pain went away but I was too weak to sprint.
- The feeling of relief knowing that no matter what I’ll finish.
- The painful walk to the exit of the park . Why it needs to be soooooo long.
- It was already dark by the time I exited and realized I still needed to find the metro to go back to the hotel. Each step was hard yet I had to find it. Then when I got to the metro station it was so packed that I had to wait to enter the station.
- The moment I entered the hotel, I felt safe.
- The moment I lied down, I was exhausted and a bit scared what was happening. I was alone. I haven’t pee since 10am and it was 6pm. I was so thirsty that wanted to drink a gallon of water but too afraid to do so. I was too tired to think what to do as I felt asleep and woke up 8pm.
- Water was all I thought about for hours. Yet I didn’t take it to prevent more vomiting on the course.
- The mix of feeling of relief, anger, disappointment, yet surprised that I wasn’t sad, I was still happy to experience it.
- The feeling of normalcy the next day, confirming that I didn’t race the race. So different feeling than the exhaustion I felt after Paris.
- The camaraderie I felt with fellow runners, from UK, from the Philippines, and probably all over the world. Most of them came alone just as I did.
- The feeling of so many runners didn’t look like runners. This is probably thr sport that is least obvious to notice by looking at the person’s appearance. Unless you are an elite, anyone could be running a marathon.
- The scare feeling and shock when I saw the girl who died on the course. Marathon could be trendy and cool to run but it’s a distance that needs to be respected.
