Nagoya Women's Marathon 2016 Race Review: Post Run and Dinner (13/3/2016)

Other than thicker socks, the only other item I felt I should have packed for running is a lip balm. My lips felt so dry when I was running although it was still bearable. However, after I reached the hotel and take a good shower, my whole body started to feel very heated up like I was going to have a fever. I guess immune system really got weaker after a long race and I was falling sick. Back at the hotel. I filled the bathtub with tap water so that I can do a ice bath for my legs. The tap water was so chilling that there was no need to get ice to cool the temperature, but I could only put my legs in the cold water for a short while before it was too unbearable. I'm not sure if it helped me in recovery but my legs felt well the next day and I could walk around Nagoya city like a normal tourist. As I was feeling feverish, I decided to go out for dinner earlier so that I can be back for a good sleep sooner. The famous Astuta Horaiken (no. 1 on Tripadvisor) is a good reward for myself after the marathon, so I decided to head there.

Long queue for the famous grilled eel rice

It was still early and only 5.40pm when I reached. Thankfully, the queue was much shorter than the previous day although it still took up the whole stretch outside. I was seated in the restaurant after 40min and it was fast since I was using my phone chatting with friends. The grilled eel rice was served in a traditional wooden tub and I ordered the normal portion even though an upsized one was available.

The food was served 

There was several ways of savouring this delicacy, which made it really special. The grilled eel was really nice on its own, but my favourite way of eating is the chazuke style. The instructions for eating this was printed on a card just in front of my seat but I referred to my notes which was taken down during during my research for the trip. The cost of this meal was not cheap (about 40+ SGD) but it was worthwhile since its one of the best thing I get to taste for the trip, the shorter queue also made me very happy.

The restaurant from outside 

It was drizzling when I left Matsuzakaya, I couldnt wait to get into my warm bed and have my head on the comfortable pillow for a good recovery sleep. I was soon asleep even though it was just 8pm, I felt so tired and feverish that I wondered if it was worthwhile making this trip. I was too tired to evaluate if the experience was worth it. I woke up at midnight and it seemed that I had rested enough even though it was just a few hours of sleep. In my mind, I started to go through what had happened earlier in the day and got excited going through my finishers' items. I took pictures of them and posted on my Instagram.

My finisher items

My fever had subsided with enough rest and food and hydration. Ironically, I started to get quite motivated and overwhelmed with a sense of achievement, feeling the runner's high late in the night and hours after the marathon. I started thinking about my next overseas marathon and fell asleep at 4am while reading race review of the Osaka marathon and GCAM.

My timing and splits for this run

As seen from the previous blog post, I did not buy the All Sports package of photographs as I only managed to find 59 pictures when searching for the photos using my bib number. It was not too bad except that some of those pictures were not mine. This happened as I kept my jacket on and zipped up most of the times with my bib pinned inside, therefore my bib number was not really visible. I saw many runners running with jackets around their waist the previous year, so I thought I would take off my jacket eventually. That did not happen as it was cooler later nearer to noon and afternoon as compared to the morning and the temperature was generally lower this year. I did not know that photos were sorted according to bib number and it was important to keep it prominent since we always search photos manually over here. Made a mental note to keep this in mind when preparing for future races, especially those in Japan. 

Nagoya Women's Marathon 2016 Race Review: Race Day (13/3/2016)

Unlike my previous races, I managed to sleep early before the night of the marathon. Being really busy and sleep deprived the previous day, I was asleep before 10.30pm and I did not even feel the race jitters. Even though I set the alarm to wake me up at 6.30am, I was awake at 5am-ish and decided to get up to get ready since I could not fall asleep again.

The miso noodles tasted not too bad but a little salty

The HARBS cake became part of my breakfast as I was too full to eat dessert after the Yabaton filling meal. I only ate a little of the cake as the fresh cream and fruits could not remain really fresh in the semi-cold hotel fridge. I ate a banana and cooked the miso noodles while putting on my gear. As the miso noodles was also quite saltish, I was worried about feeling thirsty during the race later on, so I did not finish everything.

Me in my full gear before setting off

It was only 6.45am when I was all ready and I decided to set off early for the race. I put on a down jacket as the weather was too cold outside. At the hotel lobby, I could see other ladies in their sports attire and getting ready. I saw a few other ladies all heading to the dome while I was walking to the station and I hope that the train will not get too crowded this early.

Short queues of people

Even though some people had mentioned that getting on the train along Meijo line will be challenging on the morning of the marathon, my worries were unfounded. The platform was not really crowded and when the train arrived, it was just half filled with passengers. I could only concluded that I had set off early enough and Sakae is one of the earlier station so no issue with the crowd.

The train was only half filled when it arrived

As the train picked up more passengers along the way, it started to get packed. I was astonished to see that the ladies here had their makeup on even when going for a marathon. It was not just Japanese who had their mascara, eye shadow etc... the Taiwanese also took care of their appearance. This is really not something we would do in SG, all the makeup would have melted even before we get to the race site. Once again. I feel quite frumpy compared to the rest. 

All heading to the dome

It was around 7.30am when we reached the station of the Nagoya Dome. Majority of the crowd on the train alighted here, so without thinking much, I only had to follow the crowd to make my way to the correct place. There were volunteers giving out directions to the crowd once I exited from the station. Further up, the outdoor area leading to the dome was full of people changing into their gear and getting ready for baggage deposit. I also located a good spot to put down my stuff and get ready. 

Volunteers directing the crowd

Not sure who are these people but they were being interviewed 

I took off my down jacket and stuff it into the big plastic bag for deposit, took a packet of gel and drank some water. I saw a auntie next to me and she was getting ready by puffing more powder on her face and looking into her pocket mirror. Eh... There were many people talking excitedly to their friends, having their breakfast and changing into their attire all around me. It was cold but bearable after my down jacket was removed. I saw many others with a disposable poncho, I was glad to have one on hand and put it on to keep away the cold wind.

The area leading up to the dome became a big changing area

After I'm done, I tightened the string around the big plastic bag and pasted the sticker provided so that my bib number is clearly shown on the bag. Unfortunately, my poncho is of quite lousy quality (bought from SKP) so part of it got stuck to the baggage sticker and got torn off. The plastic bag they had given us for deposit was of good quality though, normally one given in SG would be torn by the time I dragged it around, but this one was quite sturdy. It was a bit tiring by the time I carry the big plastic bag into the dome, but it was easy to follow the numbers on my bib and the sticker to locate the right place to drop off my bag. There were volunteers at the area who readily received the bags and arranged them in neat rows. After the walk into the dome to drop off the bag, I headed out to the big area I saw the previous day to get to the correct corral for setting off. There were rows and rows of portaloos and it was a good idea to visit one before I go and queue up at the corral. Although the queue was snaking, it was moving fast and I was only there for a less than 10min before the toilet attendant directed me to one of the loos.

You will not miss the big toilet sign, can see from far

Finally spotted two Singaporeans in front of me, the GE finisher tee! 

The toilet well stocked up with toilet rolls

There was a small washing area for washing of hands outside the toilet and I was surprised that such facilities could be portable too. It was cold after washing my hands so I put on my gloves before my hand froze. When I was done, it was only 8.10am and one hour before flag off. As there was nothing else that I could do then, I decided to head to my K corral. I must say that the flow of things had been very smooth so far and there was no congestion even though the race catered to 19k participants. There were so many volunteers around to ensure the smooth flow of the event and I think there must be near 100 toilets in the whole place, no worries about long toilet queues. Actually I was filled with anticipation as I had read so much about race day from all the race reviews, honestly nothing really amazed me but I was glad that everything was up to expectation so far. 

I had a good view of the stage from where I was standing

When we received the confirmation letter a few weeks or a month before the race, I was quite worried to be placed in the K corral as I will be in the 11th group (and the 3rd last) to be flag off. The marathon follow a strict cut off timing of 7 hours and there were cut off points at several location, plus sweeper bus following behind the slowest runners. I was worried as my best timing in the previous two SCMS was only 6h 45min. By the time corral K get flagged off, 15min-20min out of the 7 hours could have passed, so I would have a shorter window period to meet the cut off time. I regretted not lying about my best timing when I sent in the application but it was already too late. However, by the time I set off for the race, I had decided to just do my best and was not too worried about this corral issue anymore.

A selfie while waiting at the Start Point

When waiting in the chilling weather, I was glad that I had my buff and my gloves, the buff covered my ears and my mouth from the cold wind. Everyone was in long sleeves and long tights, I only spotted a brave girl or two in shorts, other than the elites. There were a few Taiwanese standing near me in Corral K (in fact, many of them in the race) and I was listening to their chit chat as it was the only thing I could understand on this land. I was really impressed by the Taiwanese girls, not by the amount of makeup on their face during a race, but how they show their love for their homeland. They ran with the national flags all over their body, a small number even carried a real sized flag which they draped over their shoulders at the Finish Line. Some of them had the flags printed on their running vest across their bodies, flags painted on their faces, and others had self-printed bibs with flags pinned on. A full view of their national pride. There were a lot of Hong Kong girls too but it was much harder to spot them, and only when they speak. Even though I was tempted to do the same, to show some Singapore spirit in an international platform,  I must say I do feel proud of my country but its a culture for us to be much more subtle about it. It is definitely not normal for us to wear our flags during races, local or overseas, unless we are representing Singapore in official events like SEA games or the Olympics. I had this mindset that I will bring shame for my country as I am a slow runner, but for my next overseas race I will probably get some small flag stickers to paste at the corner of the bib, or maybe small flag collar pins to show my love. As for other caucasians/european/non asian runners, surprisingly I see more of those ladies in Singapore races than the Nagoya marathon, maybe due to language barrier there.

Big screen right next to my corral

As we were really far behind and it was hard to see the stage, the big screen next to my corral provided some entertainment. There were two hosts talking animatedly to the crowd but I could not understand a word. They had also invited guests to speak to the runners before the start but I could only guess that they were some kind of celebrity. An hour seems to be a long time to wait (usually I only stand at Start Line half an hour gun) but it passed faster than expected, probably because everything was new to me. There were really hoards of people, but unlike Singapore races which had me standing in a mess of people, I was surrounded by blocks of people in different corrals, and there were volunteers walking around to lead the blocks to move into position, or to collect thrash (raincoat, drinks, gels etc). About 20min before start time, some aerobic trainers took the stage and lead us in the warm up. One thing about ladies race, most people will be sporting enough to join in the warmup, unlike the men who will just give a snort and ignore everything going around them. Anyway, I was glad for the chance to finally move my limbs a little, even if the exercise were not that effective in warming up for a marathon.

Warm up exercises

Finally, at 9.10am, the race started punctually. I started to feel a little more excited and nervous, as I witness movement in the blocks of people around me. At corral K, it took some time for us to be finally moving and it was 15min past the gun time when we ran passed the Start Line. I took off my poncho before I finally moved off, but I did not see the volunteers who collected thrash earlier, so I just left them on the kerb before we left the Nagoya Dome area. There were a mess of people everywhere and I could not feel my toes after standing in the cold for an hour, it was cramping up and felt a bit awkward when I finally started moving, I could only hope that they will warm up fast enough (made a mental note to wear thicker socks if I were to go to a colder place for another race in future).

Official photo taken by All Sports

Immediately, I saw the benefit of arranging runners according to estimated finish time as everyone moving around me were running at relatively the same pace, I hardly witness anyone who had to overtake people at a much faster speed. The starting pace for the group around me was quite comfortable and it was also quite crowded so it would be quite difficult if I have to overtake people (not that I had many chances of doing it, except for cases when they stopped). There were many people lining both sides of the road at the first km or so, and the photographers also appeared. There were volunteers holding a big blue signboard with a camera picture in advance so we would know when the next photographer is coming up. And true enough, a photographer in a special vest will be spotted, many times perched up to take a elevated view of the runners. As ladies, many of them really rushed towards the photographers at the start and even paused for a brief second to ensure that their pictures were taken. Well, I also did the same, specially veering towards the photographer but it got a little irritating when people specially stopped or slowed down right in front of the camera. Most of the time, I ran on the extreme left lane (when no photographers in sight) out of habit and it was a good thing as spectators were all lined up there eventually. The high five and words of encouragement they were shouting at me made me feel more energetic and I really raised my hand to make sure I give them a high 5 whenever I could. It just kept me going.

Volunteer holding up the signboard and she was smiling happily

Taken by the official photographers (but I did not buy the package)

At the 5km point, the first water point finally appeared and I was relieved. As Singapore is really very humid, the first water point for normal events is usually 1-2km away. I did not really feel thirsty as the climate was so cool at Nagoya but it had been more than 2 hours since I last drank anything. There was a mad rush at the first water point, but I realised there was really no need to rush for the first, second or even third table as there were rows and rows of tables with water after that. The stretch of water station was more than 20m and you really cant miss it. After I had properly warmed up, it was a little hot with the sun shining down so strong so I unzipped my jacket. But soon, cold wind came and I had to zipped up again. For most of the remaining race, my jacket remained zipped up and I only took off my cap occasionally to feel the cool hair on my wet hair. After I started running for quite sometime, the gloves became redundant too so I got rid of them.

Took at few shot of the volunteers at 8km

I hardly took out my phone to take pictures for most of the race as I was really focussed on completing the race before cut off time. On retrospect, I regretted a little not taking more pictures or videos since everything around me was really a new experience. It was the first time I used two pouches for my race and the first time I carried my iPhone 6s Plus with me on a run, I had no choice as I left my smaller phone in school in my hurry. Thankfully, the pouches did not really jiggle around or hinder my movement and the weight was light enough to run comfortably. I continued at a running pace till 14km, only stopping for a brief moment at the water stations. I was glad that I was at least 30min ahead when I reached the first few cut off points and there were still many people behind me. The much dreaded bus was nowhere to be seen and I ran on with ease as I figured I could probably complete the race in comfortable timing. I was really worried about this initially and even set the cut off time for the various points as my phone wall paper so that I can refer to it at anytime. Some ladies forgot all about it and took their own sweet time, even resulting in them being disqualified in the end. 

One of the distance marker

Running with spidey (think its a guy doing HM)

After the first 10km or so, the spectators at the side started to appear more sparse and things got a little boring. I started to feel a little tired and really wanted to take some walking breaks but I made sure I ran till 14km, at least one-third of the race finished. From that point onwards, I walked 100m for every 400m ran, so that's like 20% of the race on fast walking pace. We did a U-turn somewhere earlier so we could see the people doing the half marathon catching up and the fast runner took up the right most lanes. The lanes were wide enough as the roads were completely closed off for the marathon. Much earlier at 7km or so, the elite runners leading the pack also ran past us on the opposite side, people were all cheering for them and somehow this scene was a emotional one for me. The few leading vehicles went before them at a steady speed, and there were big video cameras with signboards mounted on the vehicles as it was a live broadcast event. Race organised at this scale was really an eye opener for me as Singapore races only had bicycles leading the lead runners (quite a laughing stock for people in their race reviews).

Making it to the 10km point (1hour before cut off time)

A nice passer-by giving out tissue papers to runners

Along the way, there were also performers and people putting up smaller scale singing or dancing performances to cheer the runners. One advantage of running on the left most lane was that I could spot people holding out chocolates and sweets for the runners and I took them happily. Sometimes, it were kids holding out these stuff, and they looked really happy when I stopped to take the food or high five with them. I was looking forward to the food stations along the second half of the race, these are well known in Japan races and something lacking in our local events. There were toilets every few km or so, I could see long lines of people queueing so I was glad I did not feel any urge to stop for toilet breaks as it could take 20min of race time just queueing and using the toilet. When I read the race reviews and comments later on, people who did not stop like me were really rare. One good thing about the toilet facilities was that there were signboards telling us the distance before the next toilet, so runners could decide if they want to stop. 

A group of drum performers

Volunteer photographer from Taiwan, so the excited Taiwanese behind me

When I finally approached the half way point, I was feeling quite tired but I told myself to push on. I motivated myself by taking my 2nd gel (one every 10km) and I told myself the first food station should be not far from here. The city marathoners (half marathon) were diverted to their end point and many of them stood on the side of our lanes to give us high fives and encouragement. I could see the huge mass of finishers (mostly guys) resting and walking around the area, before we reached another big U-turn point. Many runners feel that loops with U-turns are a mental torture, but I am not as affected by these as I looked forward to finally making the U-turn when I see the faster runners. When I see many runners on the other side trailing after me after the U-turn point, it increase my confidence too, I know its bad thing to feel good when I see many runners slower than me, but...

Volunteers holding up signs to divert runners

Many city dwellers came in special costumes (not me in the picture)

Part of the route

The whole race route was planned around the Nagoya city so we were running on the roads with shops and pedestrian walkways on the sides, the terrain was relatively flat with very mild slopes at some points. When I reached the first water point after the half-way mark (22.5km), I looked out for the food station. I was happy to see a signboard at the side stating 'food station' but something was amiss, it was kept away at the side like business had ended there. There were also signboards stating sponges were available but I did not see any of those. Eventually, I see bags of banana peels lining the side of the streets and figured all the food had ran out as I was too slow. That was really the lowest point for me for the whole marathon as I was really looking forward to refuelling and seeing with my own eyes what a food stations is like, but I realised even big overseas events like this could run out of food. Nevertheless, I was used to Singapore races only provide bananas and gels for us, so I pushed on.

Much disappointment as no more food and sponge available

The salt candies that I had brought keep me going and I also had some sweets and chocs given by the spectators. After the huge U-turn point, I could see many tired runners struggling on the opposite side of the road and there were much more walkers around me after the half-way mark. I was already impressed with myself for only walking 20% of the race till so far, but at some point, I felt that I needed longer walking break, so I adjusted it to 150m walk for every 300m run and I kept to that pace till almost the end. There were also self aid stations and many of the supporters who came with spray for runners, but my legs felt okay so I did not have to stop.

Spotted a guy with a sign "Go! Go! Singapore USA Girls!

Before we made some turns into smaller street, I spotted the Nagoya castle from afar. I stopped to take a picture of it as I do not intend to make a special trip to the castle for this runcation. In fact, the route of the marathon included some temples and tourist attraction but the castle was the only one I had spotted. When I was at 27.5km, the next food station finally appeared and I was elated. The bread that I took was just plain bread but it tasted so sweet and yummy, there were also crates of cut bananas, salt candies, chocolates etc. At every station, they tried to include some Nagoya sweet specialty but the supply was also limited and eventually I only tried one or two of those. After getting refuelled, I was feeling much more motivated. There were two more food stations after this and I stopped at every single one to take those yummy bread, and reviewing my Garmin splits later on, I spent extra two minutes at these stations. After the tables of food, tissue paper were provided for us to wipe our hands clean and there was water to wash down the food too.

The final countdown (the same group of cosplay boys behind)

Still going strong

Later part of the race, so all the walkers behind me

Tried my best to flash a bright smile when I see the photographers

The lady behind me seemed to be in agony? 

The sights after the first 30km were familiar as we eventually just headed back to the Nagoya dome on the opposite side of the road. Some of the spectators who came to cheer us also crossed the road and stationed themselves on the opposite so I saw familiar groups of people again. From 36km onwards, there were volunteers holding up signboards counting down the last 5km. I was surrounded by walkers by now and I felt great that i was still running after my walking breaks. Finally, I spotted the smaller streets leading to the Nagoya Dome and I whipped out my phone. When I was close enough, I started taking video of my final lap. My pace picked up at this point even though I was not as emotional as I thought I would feel, I just felt glad that finally its coming to an end. It became more crowded at the side of the streets again and more people appeared cheering for us. Unfortunately, the distance to the Nagoya Dome was further than expected as the Finish Line was all the way inside. With 'Dancing Queen' blaring at us while we raced the perimeter of the dome, I stopped to take a fast paced walking break until I eventually make the turn to go inside the dome. I switched on the video mode again and recorded my final dash to the Finish Line, even overtaking some people on the way in. Even though the videos turned out jerky and a bit 'blair witch project style', I realised I rewatched those many times as it were filled with fond memories of the race.

On our way to collect the Tiffany necklace

The atmosphere inside the Nagoya Dome was naturally high and we were usher towards another area where we received the much sought after finishing medal- a Tiffany necklace. I only realised at this point that I forgot to stop my Garmin in my excitement. With the favourable climate, I managed to shave off 32 minutes from my previous best record and achieved a personal best at 6 hrs13 min. It is still a very slow timing but I was very happy I achieved it without that many training runs. The Tiffany necklace were handed out by good looking dudes in tuxedo and many swooning ladies approached them to take selfies. I deliberated for a long while and was pondering if I should get one of the Taiwanese ladies to help me with a picture ( I'm not good with selfies) but eventually I felt too shy to do it and only looked on with envy. This area was crowded with many ladies stopping for photographs but I only snapped a few pictures here and then and proceeded on to the next area where volunteers handed out the finisher's towel and finisher's tee. Even though my bib stated S size, I had the good sense to get a L size finisher's tee as the sizes run small for this event. The Japanese were so considerate, they provided a nice Tiffany paper bag for us to put our stuff.

Guys in tuxedo with the Tiffany necklace

I walked to the baggage deposit area to retrieve my bag, the baggage retrieval was also fast and fuss free. I went to a corner of the dome where many runners were seated down arranging their stuff. As I always do after a marathon, I changed into my slippers as my toes were really suffering after such a long run. It is quite a common practice for us here in Singapore but I looked around and nobody was doing that (only spotted one ang moh with slippers), most of them took off their shoes to rest their feet but eventually put it on again. Maybe its or the weather or maybe its a culture there not to wear slippers in public, Japanese are very proper people and they might find it too sloppy to wear slippers around. Anyway, I packed my things and left the dome. On my way out, the nice elderly volunteers were congratulating us and one of them even shook my hands! I was really touched by her nice gesture. After exiting from the dome, there was an area where they handed out food and drinks for us to replenish our energy. I ate the banana immediately and stopped to pack my Tiffany as souvenir before it get too crumpled.

Food and drinks given to runners leaving the dome

After my previous marathons and some of the HM in Singapore, I always take a cab home. There was no way I can do it in Japan so I had to slowly make my way to the train station. Luckily for me, my legs felt okay and could even walk down the many stairs with ease. However, it was still tiring and I wonder why runners always complain about the walk from Padang when overseas race are also the same. The shock came when I reached the train station. The train was so crowded as there were so many runners leaving on train, I actually witness the platform staff pushing the ladies into the doors so that the doors could close and move off. I had seen it in YouTube video but I did not realise there were really staff doing that. Luckily, this is the only marathon which I ran without sweating much so we do not have to smell the stench in the train. The people next to me were really standing so close to me as we were packed like sardines, I could not even lift the stuff on my hands to change position or anything. The few stops back to Sakae felt like a very long ride.

Nagoya Women's Marathon 2016 Race Review: Travelling to Nagoya and Race Pack Collection (12/3/2016)

As mentioned in my previous blog post, this is my first solo overseas trip. I had traveled on the plane on my own several times (Hong Kong attachment, trip to US etc) but this is the first time I was completely on my own for the entire journey and back. Talk about feeling the jitters!

I also met with some issues at work which made me feel really stressed before the trip. As usual, things can crop up anytime at work and getting a super saver ticket means I cannot change the date and time of travel. Boss was not happy that I did not get an approval before booking but I had no choice but to go ahead. (Cost savings vs flexibility? Super saver tickets are at least $400 cheaper but perhaps I will think twice about booking again for the peace of mind unless the travel period is rightfully during my holiday blackout period)

Here we go! 

I had a very long and tiring day at work on Friday ( workday+CCA+extra sharing session) till 5pm and I kept putting off the packing of my stuff till the last minute as my flight is at 1am Saturday morning. I got home feeling really tired but I really have to get down to start packing or I'll risk missing out on some essential items for my run. It actually did not take long for me to pack as I had taken down notes and listed down the essential stuff to pack on my phone. As the weather in Nagoya is less than 10 degrees at night, I had to pack my down jacket and it took up some space. I spent some time transferring the stuff from my own cabin luggage to P's luggage which is bigger. I finished packing by 7pm and this is when P had a suddenly craving for Prima Deli chocolate cake (someone gave him a piece of cake before and he liked it), I really felt like taking a nap instead but I felt bad for leaving him here for a few nights so we embarked on the Chocolate Cake Mission. We googled for the nearest outlet and it was listed as a shop in Khatib, but when we reached the said location, the shop was no longer there and it was replaced by another brand. We had to walk back to the mrt station, board the mrt again and travel a few more stations down to the next nearest shop at AMK hub. By the time I got home, it was 10pm and I was dead beat. There were still many small random stuff that I had to remember to pick up and put into my day bag and I moved really slowly, super in need of a good rest or just some time to stone. I got a little flustered and we left home a little late, only arriving at the airport past midnight when the gate was about to open.

Tired faces, but we managed to smile

A chance for me to stand at our spot (we both have left dimples)

I wasnt left with much time to linger around at the departure gate, I had to say goodbye to P soon after I go to the money changer (changed 400 SGD to Japanese yen) and picked up my mobile wifi from Changi Recommends as like the previous trip. We took some selfies at some exhibits that had already closed for the day, and we said our goodbyes. I imagined it will be hard for me, but guess I was too tired to feel anything emotionally.

P took this picture of me, everything looked so lonely in this pic lolz..

I was not left with much time to go anywhere, except for going to the toilet and buying water (and emptying it again) to get a water bottle for refill. After I got everything scanned and cleared security, I realised there's a small shop inside the area selling drinks and stuff (only available at certain bigger 'combined' gate area) so actually it was not necessary to stop and get a bottle earlier. My dinner was just a piece of the chocolate cake from our mission before leaving the house, and I wish I have more time on hand so that I can eat proper food but I guess dinner will be served soon after we board and in actual fact I'm more tired than hungry at that point of time. It was past midnight so traffic was fast for P and he had already reached home when I was still walking to the departure gate. It was already time to board when I arrived, but I took my time to board since I was alone and sitting quite near to the front. I looked around to see if there were other ladies looking like they were going for the marathon, but there was none. Most of the passengers were Japanese and in an instance, it felt like I had reached Japan.

All ready to board, I really loved taking SQ flights

I was among the last few to board

I slept quite a bit while the plane was taking off, exhausted from the super long day of events. I only woke up when food was served on board, watched a little of movie on the in flight entertainment system and fell into deep sleep again. When we reached Nagoya, it was already 7am in the morning. The airport was not crowded at all at that time, and having been to Japan just months ago, I found my way to the connected train station easily.

Riding on the travelator at the airport, I saw signs welcoming visitors for the marathon

I was very thankful for all the train adventure we had at Hokkaido, it really helped a lot when I was traveling on my own at Nagoya, I managed to get a ticket on my own and even secured a reserved seat for myself. Personally, I feel very 'shiok' when sitting on reserved seat and paying a few dollars more is quite worthwhile.

Train tickets similar to the ones we had in Hokkaido

Actually the JR system here is more confusing than Hokkaido as the Nagoya city is mainly served by subways that are not shown in the main map. Luckily I had taken down notes (joined some Facebook groups) and just noted down that I had to get to Kanayama to transit to subway to get to Sakae, the area I was going staying.

The cute holder for reserved seat ticket ( for ease of checking by train staff)

Going to Nagoya city only took less than 30min on the express train. At Kanayama station, I followed the signs to the subway lines. Its Saturday morning but people were rushing around to places, and an old uncle even frowned at me when I stopped to take picture of the marathon poster. 

A true city marathon, with poster at the major train station

It was just a brief 4 stops to Sakae on the Meijo line. Sakae is a really good place to stay for the marathon, the station is big with extensive underground shopping connected to malls. I will stay here if I'm back again for further edition of the marathon. As I've done my homework, I looked for the correct exit (exit 13) which is the nearest to my hotel and there is also a lift service to the ground floor. It is very helpful info as I'm handling my luggage on my own this time and its a bit more tiring if I have to haul it up the stairs using the other exits.

This is the correct exit with my hotel name, the lift access is also indicated

As Sakae station is rather big (like Shinjuku in Tokyo), I had to ensure that I leave the station from the east entrance to get to exit 13. I also have to walk down a further 100m or so and passed many shops to find this, but once I get to the ground level the hotel was just another 100m-200m down the street. It was quite cold when I was walking to the hotel, I'm glad that I've packed my trusty NorthFace down jacket and my JC jumpsuits for this journey, although it made the luggage heavier than expected.

The hotel was not really visible from the street, but once I got close enough, I saw the escalator

The hotel looked new and the reception area was quite welcoming, just like many other Japan boutique hotels in the city. As it was only 9am, and check in time is 2pm, I dropped off my luggage and head to the race expo. Arriving only one day before the race is not really ideal as I had read from the FaceBook page that the official merchandise is running out of sizes after the first day of race expo. This is quite common for races of this scale, but as I cant take leave from work, I have no other choice than arriving at the city and heading down on Saturday. As the race expo only start at 10am and it was still early, I decided to head to the Nike shop around Sakae to check out the T shirts, there's good chance I can find more stock there. 

There was fresh complimentary coffee available at the hotel lobby 

Despite using the Google map on my phone, I could not locate the shop and kept wandering back to the hotel area. After awhile, I got really hungry as the only proper meal I had for the past 24hours was on the flight early this morning. I spotted a Lawson drugstore and went in to get a raw tuna onigiri and it tasted heavenly, just like most Japanese stuff, really unlike food bought from a convenience store. With my stomach filled, I realised it was already 10am, I was tired from walking in circles around Sakae station and decided to head to the race expo. 

The volunteer at the station, I wondered how long he had to stand there

The race expo is held at Nagoya Dome, 8 stops from Sakae on the Meijo line. It is like a recce trip for me, as I will be going through the exact same way the next morning when I'm heading there for the marathon. A big crowd alighted at the same station, mostly ladies, and there was no way one could get lost as there were already volunteers holding up signs once we exit from the gantry. I was using the Suica card we bought in Tokyo to travel on the subway so it is much easier to just tap in and out, I've topped it up once and the 1000Y lasted me till the end of the my trip, or almost. 

More signs along the way

The Nagoya Dome is some distance away, I walked through an underpass, went up a flight of stairs (escalator was too crowded) and walked through a long walkway before I saw the dome from afar. The dome is kind of like our Sports Hub but the station is further away than our Stadium circle line station. At the same time we're having the marathon, there's a city marathon going on so there's also some males and locals heading the same way to do the collection of race entitlements. 

Foreign runners were directly to the Sports Center for collection

The race pack collection only started 40min ago but I was expecting a long queue at the foreigners' counters like what other ladies had shared the previous day. Surprisingly, that was not the case and I was in and out within a minute at the Higashi Sports Center. There had staff speaking in English and Chinese to help direct the foreigners, after showing them my passport and the confirmation letter, they found my bib and handed the purple Menard sponsor bag to me. 

My first sighting of the Nagoya Dome

Next, I'm headed to the Nagoya Dome to check out the race expo. There was a lot of anticipation as I've read a lot about how Japanese race expos were like. From the bridge, I could see that the preparation work for the next day's marathon had started, lines and lines of cones were already laid out and the excitement slowly crept up my throat as I surveyed the ground. 

The race corrals which will be filled with people the next day

There were signs all over the place, until we were right inside the Nagoya Dome, so it is not difficult to find my way around the place. 

The expo itself is split into exhibition and food area

Signages that we will see during the actual race

Signage of the cut off timing, something that we had not seen in SG races

Panoramic shot of the whole expo 

There is a different colour theme for the marathon every year and this year's theme is luminous green (or yellowish green), the whole expo was filled with balloons and signages of the theme colour and it made the whole place really lively. As you can see from the picture, the bottom right corner is the most crowded as it is the booth of the main sponsor Nike. That is also the first place I will be heading to.

People snatching the merchandise off the shelves

I am lucky to do my first overseas race with Nike as the main sponsor. A slot in any Nike race around the world is really much sought after, not to mention one with Tiffany Co. as one of the sponsors. The design of the race tee and merchandise looked very atas and sophisticated compared to most if not all other brands. I was already browsing through the stuff online before I reached Nagoya, and could not wait to lay my hands on these memorabilia. Unfortunately, the sizes of the event tee run really small this year but fortunately I had read up all about it online before going to the expo, so I knew I probably cant fit into the many many leftovers S and XS on the racks. I'm glad I've dropped off my luggage as there were some runners who came with their luggages and the area was really crowded and messy with people snatching the stuff like its free of charge. I was quite lucky to get hold of the a few leftover M size tee and the last L size windbreaker that I saw. I can only say I'm glad I came early enough when the expo opened on the second day as I really need to get a windbreaker for the race in this weather and I did not expect the sizes to run out so fast. 

Very nice and thoughtful changing room

I joined the queue to get into the changing room as I'm worried I will not fit the M sizes tee. It looked okay on the racks but the material is not stretchy enough like our normal event tee. True enough, the Tshirts were quite body hugging and I had to make myself think rationally (easy to get over excited when its limited stock) and I decided to just get one of the three colours I had tried on. This was the first time I was in a changing room in Japan, even though it was a makeshift one, the service was so good. The staff helped me take off my shoes so that the area will not get dirty and there's a designated area to put the shoes. They even provide face cover for ladies with makeup so that it will not stain the clothes. 

First time I see such supplies in a changing room

Lady luck was still smiling on me after I left the changing room. One of the staff was walking around and calling out to people as he had two pieces of L size Tshirt (still wrapped in plastic bags) on hand. I took one of those with a big smile on my face. Finally I have one tee which is fitting! 

Nike merchandise bought (a bottle, two tee and windbreaker)

I left the Nike feeling very happy as I was really lucky to get the stuff I've wanted. On retrospect, I was glad that I did not go overboard in getting those items as Nike merchandise is really expensive in Japan. Each of those tee cost about 47 SGD, the windbreaker (quality is very good and very light) almost 150 SGD and even the water bottle was almost 25 SGD. I guess this is still alright for my first overseas marathon, but subsequent marathon I will probably not go on a spree. Hopefully. 

The damage in Nike

After the Nike area, the rest of the expo did not really have as much stuff as I expected. There were a number of stalls promoting some sports drinks and so on but I'm was not so familiar with those and of course I cant read or understand the promoters, so I left the area after a brief look. I came to the wall where all the runners name were printed out and I looked for my name. There were quite a few Taiwanese with surname Chiang although it is not so common in SG. I finally came to the end of the wall and saw a Chiang Rong Yu. I was wondering if that's me, so I walked to the other end of the wall to see if there is a Chiang Yu Rong in the next line, and there wasnt. I assumed that when I entered my name, I did not get the sequence of the first (Rong) and middle name (Yu ) correct so it became this way. Nevertheless, I found my name and was surprised to see my NYNP squadmate's name right below mine. Till this point, I still do not know of any other Singaporean who is here at Nagoya joining the race, so she is the first. 

A Taiwanese girl spoke to me in English when I was taking some photographs of the wall, it turned out that she was alone so I helped her take some pictures. She also helped me in turn and we wished each other good luck for the race before we parted ways.

I looked like crap from the lack of sleep

Other ladies busy searching their names

This is where we will cross the finishing line the next day! 

This is just one of the several booths were we could key in our target timing and take a picture

Whenever I'm in Japan, I feel a bit self conscious when I look around me and the ladies were all wearing makeup and beautifully groomed. At Tokyo and Hokkaido, I made the effort to put on makeup at least for the first few days so that I will not look so crappy. When packing for Nagoya, I took out my makeup kit after my luggage became overloaded with winter clothes, I was thinking this is a really short trip and I will not really need it as I'm going for a sports event, plus I will not see anyone that I know. But.. I kind of regretted not bringing my makeup along when I see myself looking so unglam in the pictures. 

My wishes

A friendly volunteer stationed there helped me with the pictures

Next, I came across this wall where people wrote down their wishes for the marathon and stick on the wall. Just for the fun of it, I took one and wrote on it. There was a friendly auntie who told me where to paste it and took photographs for me. I forgot to take a closeup of the sticker but I actually wrote "Run happy and safe!"

The cabinet with awards for the top runners

A short while after I took the above picture of the cabinet, there was a ceremony and they revealed the design of the this year's marathon medal. There was a queue at the cabinet to take picture after that, but I was lazy to join the queue so I only took a peek. 

Cute keychain where we can customise our name or bib no

Embroidery of event tee

Another popular booth is the one where they will customise little keychains, event tee and other memorabilia at a nominal fee. There was long queue for both so I chose to do the keychain since the queue was moving fast. My stomach was growling as it was past noon and I only ate the onigiri the whole morning. I dropped off the order form and payment for the keychain and heading to the food area of the expo. 

The order form with the samples

Famished and happy to see the food area

I've no idea what those are, but I reckon the best of Nagoya

Its lunchtime and crowded, so I headed for the shortest queue

After its my turn to order, I realised its lobster stuff

I was tired and hungry from all the walking, the weight on my shoulders and hands (it was warm inside so I took off my down jacket, plus the Mernard race pack, the Nike and my own bag) was getting to me and I cant wait to finally check into the hotel to get a good bath. It was almost 1pm and I figured I can head back to the hotel soon after lunch. With loads of stuff on my hands and the two bowls, I was glad that I could find a seat at the food area instead of going up to the spectators stand. 

Honestly, the fare tasted so so even when I was really hungry

The grilled lobster was too dried and the noodles was nothing to shout about, but at least it filled my stomach. I finished off my lunch with a nice dessert, a icy cream puff (short queue as well) and headed back to collect my keychain. There was nothing much left to see at the expo so I made my way back to Sakae area. 

I will be back soon to cross that Finish Line! 

The cream puff was not too bad

On my way back to the station, fatigue really got to me and I felt that the walk along the bridge away from the Nagoya Dome was really far. When I was leaving, it was about 1pm and more people were heading towards the expo, many with their luggages and stuff. I was really glad that I was done with the expo as it was going to be chaotic and stuff already ran out by now. 

Finally found the Nike store

When I was back in Sakae, I still had not given up on looking for Nike. After some helpful directions from the peeps on Facebook, I realised that I had missed out the store earlier as it was in the corner of the Mitsukoshi Departmental store. In fact, I had passed it a few times earlier that day. I looked at the available Tshirts they had and the biggest size was M, so I concluded that I was already lucky enough to get the last few L at the expo earlier. 

The bed looked so inviting! 

Just a small area for me to move around but good enough

The TV and the fridge 

The entrance and the 'wardrobe' 

Japanese style hotel toilet with door opening outwards

After I finally checked into the room and enjoyed a really good hot shower bathe, I realised that having the freedom to travel on my own is quite enjoyable. In the hotel room, my stuff are just strewn across the bed and the floor as I did not have to consider about the living space of another person. It felt like a long time since I got my tired body on a real bed and I did not want to get out again. I decided to go and get a early dinner at 5pm before I got too lazy.

All the famous eateries here

I had also done my homework and listed down some of the best food in Nagoya. I googled Matsuzakaya as they have both the Atsuta Horaiken (grilled eel rice) and Yabaton (Miso Katsu) outlets there. To my delight, the mall is just across the street from my hotel and a short walk away. I headed there quite early, thinking that the queue should not be too bad at 5pm but there was already a winding queue forming up at Atsuta Horaiken, they even had a few staff and signage system to direct people where to queue. 

The winding queue for the famous grilled eel rice

The giant pig is the mascot of Yabaton

I joined the short queue and got into the restaurant shortly

I could see that many of those in queue headed there from the race expo as they had their Mernard bags with them, some also had their luggage in tow. I decided to go for Yabaton as the queue is much shorter (less than 10 people) and I just wanted a quick dinner and head back to pack my stuff for the marathon. As a major franchise, they have an English menu and I ordered a half and half (Waraji Tonkatsu), trying out the katsu with the thick hot miso sauce and another more watery version of it. As what everyone said, the pork was juicy and the miso tasted good with it. The portion was really big so I could not finish it, I also refilled the free-flow cold green tea a few times as I dont really eat fried food, so I needed the green tea to wash down all the oil and savoury stuff. I could not finish everything but felt that it was a really good meal and good way to carbo load before my race the next day. Yummy!

Very nice Waraji Tonkatsu

The two restaurants were on the 8th floor of Matsuzakaya and I assumed that was also the highest floor. I went to the other storeys in search of the electronics department as my travel adaptor had fallen apart after reaching Nagoya and I needed a new one to charge my things. 

The extensive selection just for batteries 

I found what I was looking for after scanning a few floors. When I walked past the food hall at the basement, I came across quite a few famous (and atas) dessert counters and I was delighted that HARBS was one of those. HARBS cakes are on my to-eat list and they look really delicious. I decided to get the fruity crepe and have it for dessert later that night. :)

The HARBS counter, I could not make up my mind as they looked so good! 

Lucky to find one at the departmental store

Dropped by at Lawson to get my breakfast for the next morning

There was a Lawson below the hotel so I dropped by on the way back to get my breakfast for the next day.  I wanted to get the yummy onigiri but it was already sold out at 7pm. I got myself some bananas, a hot spring egg (which I did not eat till the last day) and miso instant noodles instead. I yearned to climb into bed immediately, but I had to get my stuff ready for the next day. Fortunately, the race flag off at 9am so there was no need to wake up too early.

My gear and the stuff I'll bring along to deposit

I was glad that I had gotten a tee and windbreaker in matching colour with the rest of my attire. Other stuff that I'll specially wear for the race to combat the cold weather included 2XU compression sleeves (bought for this race), Daiso $2 gloves (cheap Daiso gloves are good enough as gloves can easily drop along the race route), my buff (only equipment out of the colour scheme but it was essential) and some heat packs (didnt use them in the end). After reading tips from some marathoners, I also brought along some painkillers, but thankfully I did not encounter the need to use them during the race.

Things in the race pack, all of these are of good quality

The race bib and the sticker for the deposit bag, plus the cute keychain