For the second time, I limped to the start line.
Yesterday was the Safra S'pore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon.
A week after The Performance Series run at Punggol, my right ankle still hurt when I walked.
The Army Half Marathon has long been my Moby Dick since I first joined the event in 2013. It was my first 21km race. I joined again last year. Both times, I felt defeated by the distance.
I told myself that this year, I was going to kill the White Whale. Then my Achilles tendinitis happened.
But having survived the Punggol race with the bad ankle, I was a little more hopeful yesterday morning.
Flag-off was at 4:30am.
There were over 40,000 ruuners, about 10 times more than at the Punggol run.
The hydration points were rather chaotic because of the crowd.
Approaching the finish line:
For the first time, I managed to run (or jog) almost all the way from start to finish in a half marathon, walking only at a couple of hydration points. My ankle actually hurt less when I ran (or jogged).
I made it in just under three hours, which was 20 minutes slower than my personal best and six minutes more than last year's Army Half Marathon.
But it was also nine minutes faster than last week's Punggol race. I consider that a win.
For that reason, I'm actually quite happy with yesterday's result (even if I didn't look it in the photos).
For the first time after the Army Half Marathon, I don't hate myself.
I like the new route much better too. A few minor bottlenecks but the dreaded Republic Avenue U-turn was no more.
I may not have killed the White Whale, but I'm okay with that now.
