105 minutes.
I felt euphoric for the very first time today as I crossed the finishing line at the Stanchart marathon this morning. I ran along with my sister and her bf, and together we crossed the line, waving our arms. Yup, we waved for the cameras! That was the defining moment; it felt way better than walking the red carpet, not that I have walked one before, but you get what I mean. The great sense of achievement and pride just overwhelmed me. I couldn't stop feeling proud of myself, that for once in my life, I did not give up. And I am super proud that I did not stop running for the first 4 km. Honestly, I did not know where the sudden burst of stamina came from.
It was not easy, given that we are not seasoned runners, and quite honestly, we did not keep to our promises to train during weeks leading up to the race. We did train, though not consistently. But look, we did it. Besides, it wasn't that bad. Imagine the rush of motivation when you have thousands of other people together with you. And hordes of strangers lining up against the barricades cheering you on. I couldn't describe how motivated I felt, especially during the last 1 km where you have swarms of people from all walks of life gathering against BOTH sides of the track, and screaming ALL THE WAY RUNNERS. I just knew I wanted to keep running, no matter how much my calves hurt, no matter how numb my toes felt, no matter how parched my throat was, no matter how much I was gasping for air. I just knew I had to make a dash for the finishing line, and we did.
This has been my first long distance marathon, okay to some 1okm is nothing to 42km, I seriously admire their stamina, and I msut say, that I went with slight fear that I could not complete it within 2 hours. But I left with only a staunch belief, that nothing is impossible now. Who would have thought that me, a unsporty person and hates running would actually sign up willingly, complete it with less than 2 hours, and ran non-stop for 4 km. But I did. And with this, I believe that there's really nothing that I can say I can't anymore.
See you next year stanchart.
oh, and I met delphine at the race. So coincidental.
