SCSM 2009

Oh my word..what a race!!

There were so many things going on through our minds that I don't even know where to start now.

Unlike when we were (are!) in KL and Jamie is familiar with the people at home, Nisa and I were a little undecided about leaving early in the morning for SCSM with him being asleep. Jamie typically stirs whenever he senses that Nisa is not lying beside him and would eventually wake up. It's not like he is waking up in a strange place this time around because we have been in Singapore for a while and he knows the people in the house, nonetheless we were a little apprehensive. My Mom came to the rescue and agreed to stay in the house Sunday morning should Jamie wake up. My Pa and her always, always, go to church (followed by bible study classes) on Sundays and this is why I am so glad she agreed to stay behind. They went for the Saturday evening service instead.

We got up at 6.30am this morning and scurried around, to get ready to leave for SCSM. The Spore home faces the ECP, which is a part of the route. When we looked out, we could hear sirens and saw flashing lights - the front runners were already running past along ECP, right on pace!!! Driving down to SCSM, we saw the full marathon runners already starting the "away" leg of the ECP route. The excitement was building in Nisa and I.

Despite the road closures, we got there on time, and easily found a parking space. I started 45min before Nisa's race and after a kiss for good luck, we parted and did our warm-ups.

The weather was perfect!!! And I was off!!

No big problems on the run, and even going up the Sheares bridge was ok. The homeward leg was ok and as I passed the F1 grid and pit buildings, I wanted to walk. This was where the race merged with all other categories; it got crowded but no one was giving up. This and the fact that I hit the 8k mark in good time made me push on to the end.

A fine race and a PR on a certified course. My season ends on a high note. Nisa ran a fantastic race as well. We're now home and Jamie is playing with our medals. Everyone's smiling.

Here are the post race photos, at the venue:

Nisa in front of the Esplanade - this is where the race started

We all had to sit after the race - look at the crowds in the background. They are on the Padang, the end point

A photo to cap the end of our 2009 season

The only down in the race were the crowds. Unlike the Malaysian races that we are used to, there were many many people in our race. I cannot complain because this is the landmark race for Singapore and I am just glad we got to participate.

We're already looking forward to next year.

p/s There was a casualty. The upper on Nisa's shoe tore; and we promptly went over to Queensway to get a new pair of Asics for her!