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Ha Long Bay 42km Marathon

 
#abetterversionofme2018
As many already know, back in January, I was absolutely devastated when I got sick and was forced to withdraw from the HCMC Marathon. I really wasn't willing to wait a whole year to get another shot at running a marathon, therefore I kept my eyes and ears open waiting for another opportunity to pop up. Eventually, one day, I came across a post on Facebook advertising for a new race in Ha Long Bay, a part of the country I had yet to visit. I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity for me to run my "yearly" marathon and to visit another part of Vietnam, which people often rave about.

After registering for the race, I chose not to talk about it much as I feared things wouldn't go as I'd hoped again. Deep down, I knew that, for several reasons, I was not going to be, mentally nor physically, at the exact same place I was in January. Nonetheless, I was still looking forward to the challenge.
Last Wednesday night training session with runclub.vn before race day
So, this past Thursday night, I flew from HCMC to Hai Phong. I stayed the night in Hai Phong, had a brief workout, a wonderful breakfast and a stroll around the streets the next day, then made my 2-hour journey to Ha Long Bay. After checking in at my beachside resort hotel in Ha Long Bay, I picked up my race kit and attended the carb-loading dinner put on by the organizers. Then, on Saturday, I chose to rest for most of the day.
View at the back of my resort hotel in Ha Long Bay
After a good nights rest, I woke up Sunday around 3:45am and got ready for the race. My hotel was situated near the finish line of the race and I had to take a taxi to get to the starting point in Ha Long City. I already couldn't believe I was going to have to run that entire distance to make my way back! 
Map of the route
The area where the race began was absolutely beautiful. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. It was pretty amazing to run the first stretch while admiring this unique landscape. Unfortunately, the stunning views disappeared too quickly and suddenly I was running up a winding steep hill, towards a very long bridge, then on to a long stretch through the city filled with buses and trucks. For the first 21 kms, I was doing great. My pacing was on point and for some time, I thought maybe my January goal was a possibility. But...between 23-24kms, something happened. My legs started to feel sore and my mind began to wonder. I began walking at every water station. Eventually, I made it to the entrance of the island where I would soon go pass my hotel and the finish line. However, a quick look at my watch informed me that I still had approximately 12 kms to go. Here I was, running past the finish line, going further and further and further away. That was really tough to accept. The last 12kms were absolutely horrendous. I seriously wanted to take a seat on the curb and start crying, as I didn't think this run was fun anymore. Instead though, I paused, took a deep breath, had a quick look at the view and told myself to just chip away and keep going one step at a time. 
Running along with stunning views
It really wasn't easy, and I'm definitely not happy with my performance, mostly in the second half of the run. I keep thinking of all the reasons why things didn't go well - small number of participants, very few bystanders cheering, chafing under arms, pain in ankles, knees and hips, lack of long distance training over the last 2 months, 5 weeks participating in the Crossfit Open...BUT, as many have reminded me, in the end, I still made it, I still ran another 42km full marathon, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Even with the extreme struggle, I still managed to complete the race in 4:23:30 (a little less than 1 minute faster than my previous PB), to finish 3rd of 5 females and 23rd of 54 runners overall. 
Top 3 female finishers
Awards presentation

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I can do much better than this and hopefully one day I'll be able to prove it. One thing is for sure though - I’ve truly learned my lesson and I know that I'll need to train much much much more if I want better results.

 Well, that's a wrap for my 2017-2018 road race season! 3 different distances, 3 different cities, 3 different podium finishes and 2 PBs. 

 I mean, I guess that's not too bad after all... ;) 

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