It all started last year or the year before, I was long researching for overseas race and came upon this race review for the Nagoya Women's marathon. The race was already over for 2015, but I looked at the date and realised that it was held on the first weekend of the March holidays. It is very difficult to find a race which coincide with the holidays and one which I can do a runcation. As it is a very rare opportunity, I went to the race website and took note of the date it will open for registration.
It was August 2015 when I went to the website promptly on the day it was opened for registration. For previous years, the race slots were allocated according to balloting, but for this year's event it was faster fingers first! I tried to register for a slot in school but the website hanged and was down for a few hours, I finally succeeded after trying it at home a few hours later in the late afternoon. By the end of the day, the slots for the marathon had been all taken up. It was still months before the marathon take place but I was feeling excited, finally my first overseas marathon!
The organiser for this race also took care of accommodation for the runners, so I visited the website again after the 4th Sept to make the hotel booking, I think I felt safe after securing a spot for the race and making the payment, so I did not think too much about the hotel booking. When I went to the site, most of the hotels are already fully booked for the few nights I'm planning to book for the race. I went to Agoda and the only hotel available was Hilton as a very steep price ($300 SGD per night?) After P had confirm that he will not be going with me on this trip (more jitters as it will be my first solo trip), I managed to make a booking through the organiser's website for a single room at the b'nagoya. (Lesson learnt, always book accommodation right after confirming slot for overseas race as there will be great competition for hotel rooms during that period)
There is only direct flight to Nagoya flying on SQ and I took almost 2 months before securing the air tickets since I realised it was still early and not much competition for the air tickets. When I booked at end of Oct, it was still during super saver period and really cheap, considering its on our national carrier and direct flight.
During the few months after September, we suffered a long phase of haze period. School was closed for a day, races were canceled and so on. SCMS 2015 was supposed to be my third full marathon and I went ahead with the race knowing that I was really under-prepared. It was fine at the beginning as I managed to run for at least a third of the race without stopping to walk, but things went downhill from there. The weather was hot, I suffered cramps and pain in the legs even before I hit the halfway mark, it was rare for me as I completed races and two marathons without having any cramps. Finally, the mind was weak and I felt unwell, so I decided to end the race early after I reached the halfway mark. I took a cab back to Padang, picked up my belongings and headed home in shame after I DNF.
That incident motivated me to train harder for my first overseas marathon and I read up many articles and blogs about past years experiences to keep myself motivated.
Before preparation for this marathon, the longest distance I had ran on my own was just 8km, however, I pushed myself to go as far as 18.88km around the neighbourhood and even went for a long run when we were on a staycation at MBS. I got a bit lazy again in February after the CNY period, and before I knew it, it was time to prepare for my trip to Nagoya.
It was August 2015 when I went to the website promptly on the day it was opened for registration. For previous years, the race slots were allocated according to balloting, but for this year's event it was faster fingers first! I tried to register for a slot in school but the website hanged and was down for a few hours, I finally succeeded after trying it at home a few hours later in the late afternoon. By the end of the day, the slots for the marathon had been all taken up. It was still months before the marathon take place but I was feeling excited, finally my first overseas marathon!
The organiser for this race also took care of accommodation for the runners, so I visited the website again after the 4th Sept to make the hotel booking, I think I felt safe after securing a spot for the race and making the payment, so I did not think too much about the hotel booking. When I went to the site, most of the hotels are already fully booked for the few nights I'm planning to book for the race. I went to Agoda and the only hotel available was Hilton as a very steep price ($300 SGD per night?) After P had confirm that he will not be going with me on this trip (more jitters as it will be my first solo trip), I managed to make a booking through the organiser's website for a single room at the b'nagoya. (Lesson learnt, always book accommodation right after confirming slot for overseas race as there will be great competition for hotel rooms during that period)
There is only direct flight to Nagoya flying on SQ and I took almost 2 months before securing the air tickets since I realised it was still early and not much competition for the air tickets. When I booked at end of Oct, it was still during super saver period and really cheap, considering its on our national carrier and direct flight.
During the few months after September, we suffered a long phase of haze period. School was closed for a day, races were canceled and so on. SCMS 2015 was supposed to be my third full marathon and I went ahead with the race knowing that I was really under-prepared. It was fine at the beginning as I managed to run for at least a third of the race without stopping to walk, but things went downhill from there. The weather was hot, I suffered cramps and pain in the legs even before I hit the halfway mark, it was rare for me as I completed races and two marathons without having any cramps. Finally, the mind was weak and I felt unwell, so I decided to end the race early after I reached the halfway mark. I took a cab back to Padang, picked up my belongings and headed home in shame after I DNF.
That incident motivated me to train harder for my first overseas marathon and I read up many articles and blogs about past years experiences to keep myself motivated.
Before preparation for this marathon, the longest distance I had ran on my own was just 8km, however, I pushed myself to go as far as 18.88km around the neighbourhood and even went for a long run when we were on a staycation at MBS. I got a bit lazy again in February after the CNY period, and before I knew it, it was time to prepare for my trip to Nagoya.
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