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.