Fitness, Uncategorized SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL MARATHON 4 December 2009

So after arriving back in Shanghai, I had to wake up at 5:30AM (?!?!) the next day to do the Shanghai International Marathon.

Painful? Yep. So much so that I got panicky and couldn’t sleep until 12:30AM at night! I was doing the 21KM run and was starting to get waves of panic because I had done no training. You’re supposed to do proper training, or at least EXERCISE, prior to doing a race. But I’m very well-known for my random “Oh HELLO, I think I will run 262343KMs cos I feel like it!” outbursts. (Shanghai Duathlon, anyone?) I’ve always been fine doing it.. then again, the furthest I’ve ever run with no training (because I only decided to do it 48 hours before when a friend fell sick and gave me her ticket) was the City 2 Surf in Australia – which was 14KM.

So we woke up at the butt-crack of dawn for this. Actually, wasn’t even butt-crack yet. Nothing was showing, dawn was still fast asleep. And then I was presented with some problems:

1) headache and fatigue from my 5 mere hours of panicked sleep
2) no training and so muscles were not ready (or wanting) to run 21KM
3) SICK AS HELL!!!

Yep, my body chose that day to curl up and roll over on me. Let’s just say I NEVER get sick. Or rather, so seldom that I can’t remember the last time I was sick. I never catch colds and I’m actually pretty robust in terms of health. But today, I was coughing, feeling really really really unwell.. and worst of all – a mega sore throat that was swollen so I couldn’t swallow properly.

Nooooooooo!!!

But stubbornly, I still got up, we got dressed in a daze, and we headed off to meet the rest of the eBayers. They were doing the 4.5KM fun run because they thought the 21KM was insane. So there I was, snuffling away and feeling super ill (and sleepy), and they had a few extra number tags. “Want to run the 4.5KM too?” they asked Chris (who was actually there just to be my cheerleader) and he agreed. Then a lightbulb went off and I went “Ooooh! Is there an extra one for me?? I want to do the 4.5KM now” and there was!!! I felt bad because my 21KM race was all paid up and prepared for, but I was too scared. Chris was relieved too because he didn’t think I’d make it – or rather, I’d just make it into hospital instead 😉

And this was literally 2 minutes before the race. That’s how last-minute I am, *lol*. And that is how we came to run the 4.5KM race together, instead of me doing the 21KM by myself. We did it in 20 mins, which I was pleased about.

Problem? I was immediately sicker afterwards and was a total mess in the afternoon and evening, and also the next few days afterwards – shivering, stomach ache, flu, swollen throat, slight fever and worst of all, a horrid case of nausea so I couldn’t eat anything. I’m still recovering but everything’s all gone except for a (painful) cough.

So all in all, I’m glad I dropped out of the 21KM. Imagine if I did it?!?! I’d have surely collapsed half-way, I was so sick. But a part of me is angry for copping out, because I was so set on doing it (I get REALLY irate if I don’t meet my goals)! Next time for sure…

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