The Standard Chartered Half Marathon 2008

I finally took part in my first running race ever. As a matter of fact, it was my first and only serious running ever. As I was training for my Standard Chartered half marathon, I've injured myself twice along the same tendon at different spots. As a result, I hardly ran at all the five weeks prior to the race. And before that, of course, I hardly trained much. I got really worried about the race. I was expecting an injury during the race. I just hoped I could prolong the running before injury eventually caused me to stop running. After which I would walk for as long and as far as I could. My only target was to complete all 21km within three hours.

What happened today, however, was totally beyond my expectation. I managed to complete the race in 2 hours 17 minutes, and I suffered from no injury! I'm very happy with the time since I hardly trained for the race. The weather couldn't have been better. The temperature in the morning was around 12C, with very little wind, low humidity, and absolutely no rain although it had been forecasted for days for rain patches.

It was an entirely new experience for me. The atmosphere of the race was great. Lots of pedestrians cheered for us along the way. The water stops were new to me. The sponges were interesting. Being able to watch the Kenyans and other elite marathoners pass by was a treat. Seeing a friend among the marathon lead was exciting. Running with a friend was actually a lot of fun and encouraging. My gratitude goes to my colleague who slowed down enormously in order to run with me. My time would have been a lot slower without him running alongside chatting and pushing me. I grew significantly weaker by the time I got to Wan Chai. I was losing my power, endurance, as well as my determination. I just made myself continue mechanically with my movement. By the time I got to Causeway Bay, which is very close to the finish line at Victoria Park, the cheering crowds were very encouraging and my strength returned. I sped up at the last 50m and completed my first half marathon! Injury-free!

I intend to participate in the half marathon again next year. This time I will well prepare myself ahead of time. Anything over 2 hours will simply be unacceptable.