It was during the Cebu Pacific 50% seat sale held in February 2011 that the idea of running an international race spawned. My friends from the AdiNation of Runners - Ortigas started booking seats for the first weekend of December, which is when the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is traditionally held, and at the price of P3,500 roundtrip tickets were a steal. Before we knew it, a whole delegation of Filipino runner friends had booked flights and were anxiously waiting for the announcement for registration, even if the event was still nine months away.
When the registration finally opened in August, I was torn between doing a half marathon and a full 42.195 kilometers. Based on the previous year's race's reviews, the half marathon had a more exciting route that went through Sentosa and Universal Studios, but the need to redeem my abysmal first marathon time, coupled with the thought of this being my first international race event and the pressure by my fellow runners (special mention to my friend Mich), drove me to sign up for the full marathon. I figured there was less room for surprise, since this would already be my second, and that the plantar fasciitis on my right foot, which proved to be my Achilles' heel during the Bull Runner Dream Marathon, would still have four months to heal. With a bit of reluctance I signed up for the full marathon
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| Race Confirmation Slip...no turning back! |
The trip was hardly forgotten as we booked hotel accommodations and planned itineraries, and the months flew by. By September my plantar had gotten loads better, and despite my lack of run training I was able to build up on strength through yoga and weight training. By November I ran the 20-miler (32k) race during the 3rd leg of RunRio's Unilab Trilogy. Unfortunately, it was during this race that pain in my left foot began to gnaw at me, and fears of having to tolerate the pains of plantar during a marathon grew all over again. My last race before the big day was McDonald's 10k McHappy Fun Run. I could still feel pain in my left foot, but by this time, I knew there was no turning back.
By the week of the marathon my friends and I could hardly think about anything else. When I started packing the first things to go into my luggage were my compression tights, my sports bra, my race registration, my trusty Nike Lunar Eclipse shoes that got helped me attain most of my personal record times, my one-bottle hydration and race bib belt, my gel foot support, and my race survival kit (which carries petroleum jelly, sunblock, one pack of Clif Bloks that I'd purchased a couple of days before, my Sony Walkman earphones -- replacing my old pair that had just retired days before). I then threw in a bunch of clothes and I was set to go.
Day One: Welcome to Singapura!
I left for the airport early Wednesday morning, and this being a holiday I got to the airport early to meet the rest of my "field trip" mates Mich, Drew, Gary, Memes, and Ron. I slept the entire way and by the time we got to Singapore it was raining, suggesting it might be a wet marathon for us. There were signs welcoming runners for the event, which got us all the more excited. We did a lot of walking that afternoon and accomplished a lot: we located and checked in our hotels, had money changed to dollars, got Singapore SIM's, met up with Jill (another ANR Pearl member), and had dinner, and strolled while taking pictures along the famous Orchard Road, where the annual Christmas lights and decors display was already installed and picture-ready. Signs, advisories, and billboards related to the marathon were already visible everywhere, and we couldn't help but feel excited. We retired early that evening, knowing we had much to accomplish in the next few days.
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| Orchard Road: Spreading the Holiday Cheer! |
Day Two: The SCMS Expo and More of Orchard Road
My friends and I had signed up for the Closed REPC so we could claim our race kits early and avoid the crowds. After a brunch of roti and curry, we headed for the expo venue Marina Bay Sands at Harbourfront. We arrived before 1 PM and met up with other friends, but despite having arrived early, lines were already rather long.
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| Lining up to enter...and what a long line it was! |
The Expo was a runner's haven: there were deep discounts for running clothes and other gears, all kinds of elixirs were on sale (Mich was ecstatic when she found that her favorite gel, GU Roctane, which was out of stock everywhere in Manila, was available at the expo), and there were actually freebies being given out. We met up with our friend Renze, who works for 2xu's Singapore distributor. The variety of foods and depth of discounts made the expo feel like a runner's paradise; I ended up buying a pair of 2xu compression shorts at a discount, as well as a bright pink Asics running top sporting the official SCMS logo.
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| The expo wasn't too big, but it was a runner's paradise nonetheless! |
After the expo, we explored the Marina Bay area a bit more then headed back to Orchard. After more window-shopping and one-dollar ice cream sandwiches, we headed for my all-time favorite restaurant in Singpoare, Marché, a restaurant by the Swiss company Mövenpick, to have dinner. I had freshly-made ham and cheese crepe and rösti (fried grated potatoes served with a wallop of sour cream -- yum!). After dinner we explored Orchard a bit more before turning in and calling it a night.
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| Cheap Thrill: $1 Ice Cream Sandwiches! |
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| Marché: my favorite Singapore restaurant all dolled up for the holidays! |
We started Friday off by heading for Harbourfront again and meeting up with our friends from Six:30 Allan, Jonj, John, and Hendy at Marina Bay Sands, where they were staying.
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| View from Marina Bay Sands |
After breakfast we headed for Sentosa Island, where Mich and John met up with friends from my running group, the Happy Ortigas Team (HOT) Runner before heading for Universal Studios. Drew, Gary, Allan, and I, on the other hand, stayed at Resorts World Sentosa, where we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Siloso beach, taking the Skyride, and riding the luge.
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| Welcome to Sentosa! |
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| Siloso beach in Sentosa is man-made and small, but is said to have a thriving night life. |
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| Allan and me enjoying the Skyride! |
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| The luge was a long stretch of pure downhill fun! |
Day Four: Taper Day!
One invaluable lesson I learned from my TBR experience is that I should never exhaust myself the day before the marathon. Forget the "tire myself so I can sleep early" excuse, and never mind that I wasn't able to use my Fitness First international passport that I was previously intent on utilizing, I was determined to be as lazy and comfortable as I could be that Saturday. To do this I used my Nike Lunar Eclipse shoes all day to make sure my feet were cushioned (since they were tired from all the walking I'd done in the previous days), and headed off to visit my relatives, Ate Dona and her family, in Pasir Ris, away from the city.
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| Pasir Ris MRT Station |
I took the MRT to Pasir Ris and took the bus to Ate Dona's new place, where she and her family were spending a lazy Saturday afternoon as well. There I played with her kids Chubby, Timmy (who happens to be my godson), and Mia, and caught up a bit with Ate Dona. Towards late afternoon I joined them for the anticipated Sunday mass in their parish nearby and then had dinner at Pastamania, an Italian restaurant in a nearby mall, before heading back to the hotel and turning in.
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| After-Mass Dinner at Pastamania |
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| With my godson Timmy! |
Thanks for dropping by!
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