Techcombank HCMC International HALF-Marathon

#nextchaptervietnam

Participant...Finisher...possibly even a 2nd place WINNER?!?!

All the hard work during the Wednesday night runs with the club and the early morning solo runs on weekends paid off today.

One of the parks I run through on a weekly basis

I woke up at 2am for a race that was meant to begin at 4:30am in the center of HCMC. We started a little late, but I wasn't going to let that affect me. I was feeling quite good.

Before picture

I decided to stick with one of my colleagues from the start as I knew he could hold up a good pace and I felt I could likely stay with him for a good portion of the race.

Nearly half way into the race, I noticed there were only 2 girls in front of me. I got a tad excited and decided to pick up a bit more speed. Right away, I passed one girl, which meant that I was in 2nd. I knew my chances of catching the 1st girl were very slim, so I decided that I just needed to pace myself and hold on to the 2nd spot.

In the last 5km, I thought I could potentially finish under 1h45mins (my ultimate half-marathon goal). I was still feeling quite good, so again, I decided to speed up. Unfortunately, I finished in 1:46:29, which is still an amazing time and actually a new PB for me.

When I got to the finish line, I thought I had finished 2nd for the ladies, however I was pretty confused when I saw other women already there. After speaking with a few other runners, I thought maybe there was a large group of people way ahead in the race that I never even saw. I left very unsure about where I finished amongst all the half-marathoners.

After picture

To my surprise, this evening, once the results were posted, I noticed I did indeed finish 2nd! I was...am...soooooo happy! "It's a shame I didn't get to stand on the podium"..."I wonder if I missed out on any prizes"... "OH WELL!"

RESULTS

When I signed up for this race about a month ago, I was hoping to just finish under 2 hours; Boy oh boy did I out-do myself!

My next big event is the FULL 42km marathon in January; that's actually just 8 weeks away! YIKES! Let the training continue!

Comments

Living Outside The Box

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I believe I’m on the path I’m meant to be." As we get older, it’s easy to get trapped in society’s idea of what life "should" look like. By the time we hit 40, there’s a well-defined picture of success: owning a home, starting a family, climbing the career ladder. But as I approach this milestone, I’m choosing to remind myself that true happiness isn’t found in checking off someone else’s list. It’s found in stepping outside the box, embracing the unexpected, and allowing life to unfold in its own unique way. Sure, my path hasn’t always been conventional, and I’ve often found myself comparing my journey to others, wondering why I’m not where they are. But when I take a step back and reflect, I see how much I’ve gained by stepping off the well-worn road. Life may not have gone according to plan, but I’m proud of the unexpected milestones I’ve reached along the way. I’ve traveled to over 40 countries, lived in three (ye...

Locked in.

“ The successful warrior is the average (wo)man , with laser-like focus. ” Life’s been feeling a little dull lately, but there’s one thing keeping me fired up; the experience of a lifetime is just around the corner. In just four weeks, I’ll be heading to Chicago to compete in the Hyrox World Championships, and I’m locked in. For many competitive and athletic kids, the dream is to make it to the Olympics or stand on a world championship stage in their sport. While Hyrox may not be the Olympics, for me, this is kind of that moment. This is my ‘world stage’; I can’t wait to soak it all in and add it to the list of things I’m proud of. This idea sort of started on my 40th birthday this year. While most people celebrate with a party and cake or a getaway, I made a wild choice: I booked my place in the Hyrox World Championships with my doubles partner. Bold? Definitely. Crazy? Probably. Worth it? Without a doubt. The last time I pushed myself this hard was back in 2019 when I trained for a C...

Momentum Reset

"Momentum doesn’t just return; you rebuild it, one choice at a time." Before summer began, I was feeling a little low. The tipping point came when I found out my HYROX competition partner’s visa had been denied, meaning we wouldn’t be able to compete at the HYROX World Championships in Chicago. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but I was still pretty bummed. I thrive when I have a goal, something to work toward, and for nearly two months, I’d been all-in. That training gave me momentum, purpose and energy. When that goal disappeared, so did my drive. Suddenly, my energy shifted in the wrong direction. I slipped into autopilot, stuck in the routine of daily life, work, and thought patterns that were becoming more and more negative. Social media didn’t help. It felt like everyone else was out there doing so much, and I had nothing exciting happening. I would catch myself comparing and as my thoughts spiraled, my body started responding, and not in a good way. Th...

One Rising Star

Search This Blog