Macau Marathon 2007
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
9
17
Trip End
Ongoing
Zhongshan, Guangdong,
China
Sunday, December 2, 2007
December 2, 2007
After eight months of training, I finally completed my tenth marathon! On December 2, 2007, I crossed the finish line of the Macau Marathon at approximately 11:15 am. As far as marathons go, it was probably the worst one that I have ever done, and as far as training goes, it was the most challenging.
I got the idea for doing the marathon one day when I went to Macau. I was having lunch at the Westin reading 'Talk', the local tourist newspaper, when I read an article about the Macau Marathon in December. It had been a long time since I had done any long distance running, and I had had an arthroscopy done on my knee last year, so I wasn't sure if I would even be able to do another marathon. However, the seed had been planted, and when I got back to Zhongshan, I set up a training schedule for myself.
As I said, the training for this marathon was the most challenging, as I had to run in conditions I had never experienced before. It wasn't as easy as just putting on my running shoes and going for a run. There were a lot of logistics involved as I was dealing with temperatures and humidity that I wasn't used to, as well as not being very familiar with the city (at least for the purposes of long runs). First of all, I set up my runs based on time. I had no idea what my pace was anymore, but I based my runs on a ten minute mile. Next, I had to figure out a route that would take me the distance I needed to go without getting lost, and provide me with lots of water stops along the way. Seeing as I always did my long runs in the early morning, I had to make sure that I would be on a route where there would be stores open so that I could replenish my water supply. Sometimes the temperatures were already over 30 degrees at 6am, and I would go through the water quickly. I usually wore a small suitcase around my waist to carry everything I needed. I also had to wear those silly sweat bands around my wrist, as I would start sweating the moment I stepped outside. Having all that worked out, I then had to deal with the runs themselves, and there were many memorable ones. Seeing a runner in Zhongshan is a rare sight. Seeing a foreigner in Zhongshan isn't as rare as seeing a runner, but there aren't many foreigners here. Seeing a foreigner running in Zongshan is almost unheard of, and I got many stares whenever I went out for my runs. There were many times when people would crane their necks to stare at me, and I thought they were going to get in to an accident! There were also times though, where I would get a smile, a thumbs up, or a hello. One time, I even got a bicycle escort when I got lost! I will also never forget the time I went out for a run in the rain, thunder and lightening. I had a woman stop her car, roll her window down and ask me if I needed help. I assured her that I was okay, and actually wanted to be out running. On the same run, I had a girl run beside me holding an umbrella over my head! While I was out on my runs, there were many times where I had to deal with mangy dogs. Normally, I am not scared of dogs, however, some of the dogs that came running after me were pretty scary looking. I had no idea what they were going to do, so I would go running after them! For the most part, it usually scared them away, but there were times, that they would come running back after me. I'm happy to report that there were no incidents with dogs in my eight months of training, but I bet there were many Chinese people shaking their heads when they saw me running after their dog! Although there were many times I went out running and the sun wasn't shining, I would come home after my run, take off my clothes, only to find tan lines! However, once I had a shower, I would discover that my 'tan lines' were gone. I used to get so filthy running in the streets of Zhongshan, and I can't help but wonder if my clothes and skin got that dirty from running, what did it do to my lungs?
As marathon day got closer and closer, I started to get worried about whether or not I would be able to finish the marathon in time. Most marathons have a cut off time of six hours, but this one had a cut off time of five hours. Although most of my marathon finish times have been around the four hour mark, I had no idea what my finish time would be, because I had no way to measure the distance of my training runs - I had just been going on time, not distance. My biggest concern was not being able to finish in time, and having to tell my students that I wasn't able to do it. I kept telling myself that if I had to crawl across the finish line, I would do it.
By the end of November, the long runs were done, and the only thing left was mental preparation.
Luckily, I was able to get one of the other foreign teachers to teach my Saturday classes at Bond so I was able to go to Macau the day before the marathon instead of in the evening after a long day of teaching. My friend Liz was coming from Canada for a visit, and would be there to support me for the marathon, as well as my friend Judith, another foreign teacher in Zhongshan. I met Liz at the Macau ferry terminal at 11:30, then we went to the hotel and checked in. After we checked in, we went in to Taipa town for lunch, then went to the Macau stadium to pick up my race package. The packet pickup was pretty low key and uneventful compared to other marathons that I've done. There is usually some kind of fitness fair that goes along with packet pickup, but in Macau, you pick up your race number, your timing chip, and you're done - a bit of a letdown. Later on in the afternoon, we went to Largo Senada to do some shopping, then met Judith, and went for an Italian, carbo-loading dinner. After that, it was back to the hotel and an early night to bed!
I must say that I slept pretty darn good for the night before a marathon! The marathon started at 6:30, and we were up at 4:45, as I wanted to give myself lots of time to eat breakfast and get to the starting line. When we got there, it looked like the doors to the stadium were closed. There was a crowd of people with race numbers standing around outside, so we stood with them. It started getting closer and closer to starting time, so Judith and Liz said goodbye and went to go and get a seat in the stadium. They came back a few minutes later to tell me that lots of the runners were getting in to the stadium through a side entrance, so I also went in through the side entrance.
I was surprised that there weren't more spectators in the stadium, however, it was still pretty early. The gun went off at 6:30, and I took a deep breath and tried to focus on what lay ahead. I quickly got in to my pace, and was feeling pretty good. Whenever we passed by a distance marker, I would check my watch, and do a quick calculation to see how I was doing. Not bad. However, as time went on, the runners thinned out, the sun came out, and it started to get tough. There were many lonely stretches, and there were no spectators to offer support. Even the people directing traffic for the marathon didn't offer a smile or any kind of support as you ran by. The only entertainment on the whole course was a group of Portuguese dancers at the back of the Wynn Hotel, and a Chinese dragon accompanied by drummers beating on a drum, along a long, lonely stretch out by the airport. By this time, there were not many people who were doing the full marathon. I had told myself that at 30 kms, I could do a 10 min walk/1 min run, however, I abandoned that plan and started doing it at 28kms. As the sun got hotter and there were less and less people, it got harder and harder, and the words of the late Rob Leviton, 'pain is temporary, pride is forever' kept running through my head. At one of the distance markers, I did a quick calculation and realized that if I was going to make it across the finish line under 5 hours, I needed to run straight through. Not finishing was not an option. As I got closer to the finish line, I saw people who had already finished, walking away from the stadium with their medals around their neck. Oh, how I wished that was me! As I ran down the road approaching the stadium, I saw Liz and Judith cheering for me. I was so happy to seem them but wondered why there were there and not at the finish line as originally planned. It didn't take me long to realize why.
The best part of doing a marathon is crossing the finish line to friends, family and total strangers cheering you on. As I rounded the last corner to head in to the stadium, I gathered myself together for my big finish. How disappointing when I ran in to an EMPTY stadium! No music, no friends, no spectators, no cheering, nothing but total silence!!! It was AWFUL!!! As I crossed the finish line, I was handed a t-shirt, a towel, some food and water and shown the exit. I soon found out from Liz and Judith that they tried to get in to the stadium, but weren't allowed in. It sure was good to see their familiar faces after such a letdown finish!!
The only good part of the Macau Marathon was my recovery. After we went back to the hotel and I had a shower, the three of us wandered around Taipa Town before Liz and I went and checked in to the Venetian Hotel. I didn't feel any stiffness in my legs as we were wandering around. The next morning when I got out of bed I was a little worried that I would feel stiff, but not at all. Not even two days later!
Yes, as a treat, Liz and I checked in to the Venetian Hotel for one night before going back to Zhonghsan. It was pure luxury! We each had a queen sized bed and it was soooo comfortable! The bathroom had a shower as well as a huge bathtub. We even had a sunken living room. It was pure heaven and a well deserved treat after the marathon. Too bad we didn't have any luck at the casino!
The best part about doing the Macau Marathon was being able to show my students my finishers' medal. Normally, I don't care about the medal, but this one was so important for me as I wanted to be able to show my students that I achieved my goal and completed the marathon. And show them I did. I got many 'woah's the equivalent of our 'wow', or 'cool'. The week before I did the marathon, we had done a lesson on the Beijing Olympics. Seeing as my finishers' medal was silver, many of my students wanted to know if I came in second ☺ I was also able to show my medal to a gentleman who I would often see outside of Bi Hua Li when I was finishing my training runs. He couldn't speak any English, but as I was running towards home, he would stand up and salute me. When I was going home one day after we got back from Macau, I saw him outside. I showed him my medal, and a brochure (which was in Chinese) for the Macau Marathon. It didn't matter that he couldn't speak English. His smile said it all.
It's now been close to a month since I did the Macau Marathon, and I haven't done a run since then. In fact, after I finished the marathon, I took off my running shoes and threw them away! I'm thrilled to have finally completed marathon number ten, and at this point in time, I don't really feel the need to do another marathon any time soon. Although my memories from the Macau Marathon have not all been good ones, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. It's all been a part of my experience here in China, and I wouldn't change it for the world!
Until next time,
Gaye
