November 11 - I'm thankful for our veterans.
November 12 - I'm thankful for encouraging friends.
Yesterday's half marathon was pretty brutal. I basically just dropped the ball on my training, and I suffered for it. I knew going into the race that I wasn't going to be able to run the whole thing.. I just hadn't put in the miles, and the heat here adds a whole layer to things that really doesn't let you be under-trained.
Pre-race breakfast
The weather was actually pretty decent. (I think it was around 77 at the start time.. which was 5:30 am! ..and got up to about 81 or 82 once the sun came up.) There were a lot of runners (all women!), but the course was never really crowded or congested with people, so that was good. Much different than my first Singapore race experience!
Starting line
I was okay for the first five miles or so, but then I was just over it. Since I knew that I wouldn't be able to run the whole thing anyway, I just started walking. My attitude took a nose dive. I really wanted to drop out of the race. (I had packed extra money and my bus pass in my water bottle compartment.) However, we were in a part of the city that I wasn't familiar with, and I never saw an MRT stop, bus stop, or taxi stand that I recognized, so I just kept going. I would run for a tiny stretch and then walk for a long stretch. Luckily, I was texting with Kim for a while, which helped distract me and give me encouragement!
By the time I hit the 15k mark (a half marathon is 21k), I figured that I may as well just finish the damn race. But I still wasn't doing much running haha. I was just so over it. Pretty soon, some nice scenery helped make things more bearable.
And then suddenly, the finish line actually seemed a reasonable distance away!
I still did a ton of walking in the last few kilometers, but every time I did run, I was running just fine. I looked at some of the other women around me (granted, this was towards the back of the pack), and most of them looked like they were dying as they ran. I, on the other hand, was running like I was only on mile 2. But then I would stop and walk haha. But I really did feel ok physically, I was just mentally drained.
I finished in about 2:48, which is a terrible time, but given the amount of walking I did (I would estimate I walked half the course or so).. I feel like that isn't bad. So whatever, I'm glad I didn't drop out of the race, but I am really disappointed that I can't seem to get over some of these mental blocks that I have with running. Since I was feeling fine at the end of the race, I obviously could have run more than I did. And I certainly could've at least made it farther than the 5 mile mark before I started walking.. I just didn't. And I don't really know why? Any running friends have advice for mental motivation??
So even though my own race experience was a bit of a disaster, I've got to say that this race was 800 times better than the SAFRA 10K that I did. The kilometer markers were well laid out and visible, the race course had plenty of volunteers on it to direct you, there was hydration at every 2km, and the finish area was awesome! They had water, 100 Plus, granola bars, and medals right at the end of the finish line. And then further out in the field they had free food for all the runners!! Hot dogs, ice cream, fruit, and muffins! I had a free ice cream (obviously) before heading out.
Side note - in Singapore it seems that everyone wears the race t-shirt to the actual race. I thought that was supposed to be bad luck or something?
This weekend also included...
Dinner in Dempsey Hill at a place that I would swear was in America if it weren't for all the Asian people..
Loved the wall art!
A trip to the Singapore Zoo (we bought a park-hopper pass when we did the Night Safari)
Don't let this fool you.. even though these two pandas arrived in Singapore a couple months ago, the exhibition is not ready yet! I was so disappointed :(
Elephant bath!
Lunch at Chili's near the American Embassy.. they show football on Sundays (last week's game haha) and they have Miller Lite! This is the first place in Singapore I've found Miller Lite. Unfortunately, a lunch for two at Chili's in Singapore will cost you S$120!
Dinner in Little India. Deepavali is on Tuesday, so the area is all decorated in lights and there were tons of people out and about on Sunday night. We had dinner and then strolled through some of the markets before heading back home.
Deepavali is a public holiday on Tuesday, so this week will hopefully go by quickly. Woohoo for celebrating other cultures! Hope every had a good weekend at home!
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