Laguna Phuket International Marathon 2013 : Race Report

I kicked off Sunday by leaving the hotel at 5.30am and arrived at Laguna Phuket around 6am - just enough time for me to drop my bag and warm-up before the race starts.

5 mins after I arrived.

PRE-RACE CAMWHORE!!

Before long, sun was already out, and I headed to the starting line whilst simultaneously dealing with a pretty epic pre-race jitters because I knew that I barely trained for this run considering that I only signed up for it just 2 weeks before.

(Bad move, yes I know. You can all send me hatemails now).

So yes, because of that, I told myself  to take it easy so I won't injure myself for my Bali Marathon which was scheduled on the weekend after.



Most of the people I saw at the starting line were foreigners instead of locals. Not sure why. The race started on time and I was happy that I didn't have to weave around too much. The weather was rather pleasant too; not too hot for Thailand, probably between 22 ºC to 25 ºC - and not raining.


Not long after we started, we were already crossing the highway...

And then over to the countryside...

.... All the way to villages, small towns, paddy fields, and rubber plantations.

I was fully exposed to the sun by the time I reached 5KM, and started feeling a little exhausted by then so I took my first gel and maintained an average pace of 6:08km/h. I skipped the first and second water station to save time. And I regretted skipping the second one because by then I just realized that they actually handed out cold sponges to runners at some stations. SPONGES SOAKED IN ICE-COLD WATER. How awesome was that?! That was the first for me - never seen that being offered in any other races I've been to. Oh, and they offered fruits at certain stations too. :D

So yeah - screw that couple of seconds that I wanted to save- I have then decided to stop at every station that offers fruits and cold sponges.

Ha-ha.

The organizer of Phuket Marathon supports the "Green Runner" idea where you use your own collapsible silicone cup instead of the wasteful plastic cups at water stations. But I didn't see this being practiced commonly during the race. This eco-friendly idea is something new for me as well, as I've never been to a run where I was being provided with a re-usable cup to reduce papercup wastage.

Well yeah, I personally LIKE the idea, but the moment I saw the little green leaf-shaped cup in my racepack, I knew I was never going to carry it through my entire run. I guess carrying water with my own hydration belt is already considered as being environmentally friendly, no? Hehe.

I was starting to feel a little nauseous at 15km as it was at this point where I had some difficulty negotiating a short but very steep little hill. I took another gel and luckily within 10 minutes I regained my composure.

Based on on the elevation climb, the remaining 5km were flat or slightly downhill so I carried on at a very relaxed pace of 6:56.

Something that I truly didn't expect showed up at 17KM, where we were presented with a stretch of coastal road overlooking the Andaman Sea. Lovely! Too bad I couldn't take my phone out from the armband because it was slightly drizzling at that time and my hands were very slippery. The only shot I managed to snap was this one, but it wasn't a good shot because the view was blocked by the trees and I didn't want to stop for another mid-run photoshoot session. Nevertheless, I realized at this point, that the THB3100 (approx. USD 105) I paid for this run was all worth it.

 
The final 3 kilometres are always the most painful. I call it : ZE EVIL MARKER.

And I came across this at 19KM:

Very strategically placed, I'd say. -_-





Beyond 18km I was just about spent, but I managed to push myself for the final 3km anyhow.

I cruised all the way towards the end at a very slow 7:26 pace. Jusssssstttt about 50m before I reached the finish line, the event announcer called out... "AND WE HAVE ELIANA ANUAR FROM MALAYSIAAAAA!!!" followed by a loud cheer from the crowd. 

Seconds after that, I crossed the finish line and clocked 2:25:18...  while the crowd was still cheering for me!

 THE BEST FEELING EVER.

WOOHOO! \(^_^)/

Despite my lack of training, I'm happy that I managed to bag a new Half Marathon PB and came 22nd in my age group. Yes, my legs felt as if they were about to come off after the run, but so what......

I JUST RAN THROUGH PARADISE!