Was in Taipei for 3 day office Regional Conference. End of the week 8 Feb 2015 was SCTM and I was excited.
Originally in my calendar as 8km but can't recall why I signed up 21km. Started training and building mileage from Dec 2014 and in Jan I clocked just over 90km to build up stamina and meet the cut-off time of 330 mins (3 1/2 hours).
During the week in Taipei, it was cold and rained occasionally. Temp for early Feb 2015 dropped to 11degC with RealFeel of 7degC. Chilly.....
On race morning of 8 Feb 2015, it was 12degC and light rain all the way to about 5:45pm, 15mins after start. I m so glad I packed 1 set of disposal raincoat to Taipei.
I dressed as follows: Fubon Taipei Marathon Running Vest + Aviation Run tee + SC Taipei event vest + short pants + my pair of cloth winter gloves. On the way, I put on the raincoat as it was raining during my walk from Chaiin Hotel to start point at Ketagalan Boulevard which faces the main door of the Office of the Taiwan President.
The start was crowded as 21km and 42 km started together & only separated at around the 11km mark.
It was wet and some used raincoats, some used waterproof tops and some ran in just a running vest(!). The route was full of up and down slopes on the highways and that was challenging for someone who jogs around HDB estates on fairly flat pavements.
Some ran, some walked, some jogged. But generally before the halfway or 12-13km mark, hardly anyone walked (except for the parts with the steep highway up slopes)
Water points were ok. There was water and some points had some type of electrolyte drink. There were wet sponges & bananas and biscuit crackers which I did not take but quite a few did.
My greatest fear was missing the turning point cut-off time (where they will reopen the highway) and get picked up by the bus which means a free ride to finish point but no medal. See the 大会殿后车 or "REAR BUS" pix below:
I had knee pains and still ankles from 16km....basically it was pain & teeth gritting walking 98% to the Finish from there. Spurred by desire to get away from the chill and rest my legs.
More shaky blurry shots from my old phone wrapped in plastic (to keep dry) :p
Ah...3km more to go!
Leg pain, pain even walking. Even 'Minion' also had to stretch his legs (but he manged to jog on after that & I think finished ahead of me). The last 2 signs were really welcomed!
Towards the ending, my fingers felt chilled. The gloves had become wet due to sweat and the chilly wind made my fingertips turning wet cold.
End of race, got the Finisher Medal, SC Towel, a tissue size box with 3 buns, 1 small bottle energy drink and 1 bottle of pure water.
The many mornings of extended jogs from SKK to AMK to HG were worth it. I clocked a nett time of 2:58:55. First time I managed a sub-3 HM.
