Army Half Marathon was today!  And my now legs are like jello....   Of course mandatory to go because we have to 'support this army event' but instead of the full half marathon, school of logistics (where I'm having my logistics course) was only running 12 km.  But, I mean, what's the point of running only 12 km when you can run 21 km!   So yeah, joined up with my buddies in my original unit - 3 SIR and ran the half marathon with them.

It was crazy.  The starting point was at the Padang, on Esplanade bridge to be exact.  There were sooo many people there you couldn't see the end of the line.  Essentially every single army unit and formation was there at 5:15 in the morning.  Well, that was the time we were -supposed- to get there.  But somehow our transport from our camp to the starting point never made it and we got there very very late.  Late as in the race-had-already-started late.  And yet, the last row of the running crowd had just crossed the starting line nearly 20 minutes after the race was flagged off.   Yea, so you can imagine what kind of crowd was there.  The entire length of the Benjamin Sheares bridge (and then some) was covered with people.  Even though they closed one or two lanes for us, moving in the beginning stages was nearly impossible at some spots - a whole 20 minutes needed for only 3 km, 40 minutes for 5 km.  But as the race progressed it thinned out enough to only have to dodge a couple of people every now and then as you ran.

The race route briefly: Esplanade, down Shenton way, over Benjamin Sheare's Bridge, run the length of East Coast Park, do a U-turn, go over to the National Stadium, do a loop, come back down to Esplanade. Click below for a clearer picture

Having absolutely NO running preparation (or any physical activity for the past two weeks for that matter) at all (last serious run was 12 km a few months ago?), my legs started to give out during the last 5 km.  Sorta like dragging them along like they're strapped with weights.... but as long as I didn't stopped to walk (although I got pretty close to doing so) I was happy.  Finishing time? 2 hours 12 mins....bleh, was aiming for sub 2 hrs.  Oh well, there's always next time...Dec 5th? Anyone coming back early enough to join me?   By this time next year I'll finally be GONE! College at last...

I'd like to thank Nature's Valley Granola Bars for breakfast, my Power Gel for energy halfway through the run, and most of all, GATORADE for hydration before the run and more importantly, being one of the SPONSORS for the run (yes! gatorade water points!) - providing much needed energy, or at least the illusion of it.

Alright that's all from me today.  As much as I'd like to talk about training in Brunei, I am pretty much drained today as are my legs and entire body.  I think I'll just lie somewhere and vegetate before going to sleep