Monday, October 26, 2009

finisher of 50km! ^^ North Face 100 was my most punishing race ever definitely. took over cher coz he had exams, ran with kelvin er. we met really really early (the 100km ppl started even earlier!). was initially worried about not having race id tag but they werent that strict about it thankfully. shouldnt have brought my race map along for the race. they din check that stringently and i didnt use it at all. now its a soggy piece of paper in my rubbish bin. (initially brought it along coz they said it was compulsory and i was sincerely worried about getting lost haha)
was hoping to keep it as a remembrance but wasted!~

race was really an eyeopener. have never seen so many runners with hydration packs before! and an amazing range of running attire/caps/sunglasses/pouches/shoes. super colourful! ^^ weight myself and my hydration pack (they werent that strict about this. i swear some ppl carry less than 1.5L of fluids). some easy stretching and then off we went.
race started at 7am for us. total of 176 teams signed up for the 100km duo open. 21 teams signed up for 100km duo women. less than 30 tried the 100km. total number of runners this year (including 50km duo) should be slightly less than 1200.

weather was good to us. abit of sun but not too hot or humid... yet. started the run at a good pace i felt. feeling really good all the way till 10~15km. din stop at the first water point. rifle range road was easy too... until we reached bukit timah. that hill was when i started walking. lost sight of alot of runners at the nature reserve coz the trail was something i've never trained for >< but nonetheless din experience any major problems, reached zhenghua park still feeling okay. by then sun was up so it was really really hot and humid in the forest trail.

after that cant rmb much. i know certain parts looked familiar coz i'd been there during sispec. chestnut trail was really narrow and had lots of bikers. made it to the waterpoint at mandai near the zoo. there's a name for it cant rmb. stop briefly at the waterpoint (~21km) before going into that area for the turn about and return route.
made a huge mistake there! did not fill my camelbak sufficiently. put that together with the heat and humidity plus myself being unconditioned to the difficult trail (why is it mostly uphill ><), was really suffering at around 25km when we climbed hill 265 (crappy name. i know). literally had to climb there were no foot paths up! i had to stop twice to catch my breath during the climb omg ><

first thing i asked the guy at the top of hill scanning our bibs was the distance to the next water point and he said 5km. !!! wanted to lie down and give up there and then. so freaking tired! and an overwhelming urge to just lie down and fall sleep for a while >< strange huh.
by another 500m i finished all my 100plus. no shade at all coz we've left the forest so the heat really sucked. could feel myself dehydrating, legs going weak, stomach super uncomfortable, heart rate remained high even though i was walking all the way. all the usual problems but worse! ><

then i met these brunei troops. i think they were there on exercise. i rmb one of them (think its a 1SG) looked at me and without me saying anything he offered me a drink from his water bottle. omg so freaking THANKFUL at that point i just kept saying thanks all over again. and while i was drinking the other soldiers helped fill my camelbak up with water from their own jerry can! that water really saved my life there i think. really unexpected help.

i mean, seriously anyone would have done the same thing (i hope!) if they see others in need. but having experienced it personally i felt so so so grateful. unbelievable. after that point i kept telling myself if i gave up i wouldnt be able to answer to that camelbak of water.

but really easy to say that now in the comfort of my home. i dunno how i made it to the next water point. almost on the verge of collapse when i reached. met kelvin there he was already enjoying a banana. i rmb my watch said 11:00am precisely and i told myself im not going to move another metre until 11:20. lol :) grabbed 100plus and a banana and just sat down at the curb for a good 20 minutes! it really helped and i felt much better afterward. managed to walk/jog the remaining distance back. and there was this girl also running at the same pace. we were pacing/overtaking each other all thru the last 20km it really helped i think :) thx whoever you are!

last difficult stretch was at singapore island country club. HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. amazingly hot sun and ironically water all around us coz of the golf course's water bodies. there was a plus point though - its normal tarmac road so its back to familiar territory for me :) managed to overtake quite a few ppl there. then followed by the very last stretch of macritchie forest trail. the last bend was awesome when we saw macritchie reservoir in front of us. utter bliss! could tell from every runners' body language. from walking with heads sagging (actually more like limping/staggering) to a slow jog with heads up. awesome! had some energy left and my cramps din bother me much by then so i managed to finish at a good pace. i always love the finish of any race! that feeling of pure joy and achievement :)

the medal wasnt the best looking but whatever man it was hard earned.

got my medal (there were some NF ppl to put medals around our necks at the finish line lol), weighed myself again, met up wth kelvin, grabbed subway, bathed, bitched about the race, and we both agreed the 100km runners deserve utmost respect. we (the 50km runners) met a few of them on their return lap. all of us applauded each one we saw haha. and most of them replied with smiles or thumbs up or even encouraging words of their own. really superhuman mental willpower.

lost 1kg during the race even though i was drinking non stop. called a cab home and went to sleep :)

race results - 7 hours 40 minutes, 127th place :) our team came in 53rd! which was pretty decent i felt. would definitely have been better if i had done some training on trail routes.
total of 126 open teams and 14 women teams completed the 100km duo.

legs seemed to have recovered pretty well. i dont feel so tired anymore. next up is new balance real run! after that will be standard chartered marathon. also rather tempted to try the year end MR25 ultra-marathon! :) will see how things shape up :)

races so far this year
Adidas sundown (42km)(5hr10m)
Timor barat (16km)(1hr22m)
AHM (21km)(1hr58m)
Inter-cluster X-country (5km)(23m) (haha ok maybe this doesnt really count. but i'll add it coz it was my first taste of off road running - 23min was really disappointing)
NF100 (50km)(7hr40m)

races to come
new balance real run (15km)
standard chartered marathon (42)
MR25 ultra-marathon (??)

never expected myself to come so far when i first signed up for adidas sundown. was just fulfilling a personal goal of completing a marathon.
i shall add a new goal now: vertical marathon next year :) must plan my running schedule soon for next year. i'll like trying a few more races which i missed this year.

4:32 PM

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