Great Eastern Women 10k 2009

I was more apprehensive about this run than last week's TNF race. Reason? MBH had been nursing an ITB injury sustained since the Singapore Bay Run in August, which got aggravated during the Yellow Ribbon Run in September. Consequently, her running had been sporadic at best. In fact, I advised her against running this morning, but MBH would not hear of it.

So after picking up EL, a member of our PMC running community, we promptly made our way to Raffles City. Along the way, we met up with PK and family - J would be running the 10k as well, and KL and wife. Met up with tekko and other supporters, some of whom I recognized as participants in last week's race.


More than 5,000 ladies started the 10k race. It was fun to see a sea of red heading down Nicoll Highway.

The finish line was outside City Hall, and us dutiful husbands lined up to catch our beloved wives coming back. By then, all the elite runners were back, and we observed that a high proportion of the top finishers were caucasians.

J came back in 1:07 - an excellent time. MBH completed her PB - 1:31:54. Congratulations to EL for finishing her first 10k race in a great time of 1:24! The nice weather - cool and and overcast - helped.

One gripe among the runners were the presence of male bandits. In fact, several officials tried to get them off the race, only to be ignored or told off. One bandit even said that he was just running by the side, so what's wrong with that? That got MBH really furious!

Personally, I think it is one thing to show morale support and encouragement for your loved ones, but another to blatantly flout the rules. Gate crashing without paying the registration fee is bad enough, but to gate crash an all-women event is unfathomable. I say, leave the ladies be. It is after all, an all ladies event.

Would you gate crash an all-women event?

New Italian beauty: Wilier Imperiale 2010

The latest bike from Wilier is inspired by a hybrid of the company's Tri-Crono time trial bike and popular Cento 1.

Some interesting features:

• Soft curvaceousness of the downtube, shaped with a modified beak to help clean the residual air coming off the rotation of the front wheel.
• Continuing compound curve along the sides of the headtube to also guide the air toward the rear of the frame. The top tube slopes away at a slight angle while tapering to a smaller cross-section, allowing the air from the headtube to smoothly flow through the legs and then to the rear.
• The chainstays and seatstays both have trailing stabilizers on the rear of the tubes.
• Asymmetric chainstays, oversized BB and integrated seatmast as in Cento 1.

Check out the beauty in the following reviews:

• bike radar
• road cycling
• competitive cyclist

Official website: http://imperiale.wilier.it/

We share

When we run, we are already so exposed, often nearly naked in our shorts and T-shirts, huffing and puffing, purified by the effort. Briefly removed from the defenses and secrets we maintain in so much of our lives, we feel less need to hide our private thoughts, loves, fears, and stresses. We share.

Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

The long runs often bring to bear some of my deepest concerns and issues relating to family, friends and work. TNF100 race last Sat brought up many issues, not least because it was so darn long. But that was really my fault, which was the whole point.

As I rationalized, I used to have cramps in my hamstrings, quads and calves during previous endurance races (marathons and triathlons), but I spent time conditioning them through training. To that extent, I was glad that the cramps didn't occur in those muscles. It was the inner right thigh (abductors) that let me down last Sat, the muscles that I completely ignored for as long as I could remember. And for it to occur on my right leg, which is my weaker leg, is no surprise. Lesson learnt: to work on strengthening the abductors.

But what really upset me was to let my team-mate down. Unlike other races where we run as individuals, TNF100 was a team event. Our team time mattered. My good friend wouldn't abandon me mid-race, and I understood and appreciated that. Even so, I felt responsible for spoiling his race that he trained so hard for. Even more so, to disappoint his daughter when she learnt that her papi didn't get a finisher medal.

To add insult to injury, I was the companion to my friends who experienced trouble in previous long trail runs. I would have done the same for them again, anytime, but for it to happen to me during race day was .... well, a total let down.

In all honesty, I thought about quitting the race, but only momentarily. The most tempting moment was when realizing that I wouldn't be able to make the 9 hours cut-off time. But I knew that it meant a lot to finish what we started, even if it meant crawling back.

As I tell my kids, we must have the courage to finish what we start.

To my friend PK, thanks for sticking with me and pulling me through.

The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.

Baron De Coubertin, Founder of the Modern Olympic Games

TNF: The Day After

Amazing what a good night's sleep can do. Here I am, one day after the most grueling race and feeling rather amazed that the only sore muscle is my inner right thigh. A stark reminder of my nemesis at TNF.

Here are some snippets of the race that I didn't have the energy to pen down yesterday:

Mohan: On track to complete 24 marathons this year, and just a week ago, he completed the Beijing marathon. That's an average of 1 per fortnight. Should reach his target of 100 marathons next year. How do one train for 24 marathons in one year? I didn't get to ask Mohan that, but will do so the next time I see him.

FeetofFury: Nice to meet him at the BTVC, and rather surprised that he wasn't racing. He explained that he is targeting the marathon in Korea in a couple of weeks' time. He was so close to qualifying for Boston last year, and I wish him all the best in this year's attempt!

Catwoman: An icon in our local racing scene, she was almost unrecognizable with a toned-down costume. The bright blue head gear made her stand out. She had a walking stick to surmount BT hill. What a good idea. Also learnt that Spiderman had an injury and would be out of action for some time. No wonder we didn't see him for some time. But Catwoman was still flying the flag high - even though she just completed Borneo two weeks ago.

WD: You, my friend, was infamous. We heard your partner calling out your name as we gazed in amazement at the barren hill (you know which hill!), and we thought for a moment that you were waiting for her. Apparently not. Another source told me today that your partner was calling out your name as she approached the finish line. Perhaps you heard her then. She was also saying things like "this is a crazy race".

Runner on Hill 256: I was surprised he was running without hydration. And it was about noon, the hottest part of the day. He looked poached. Since my curiosity got the better of me, I asked, and he told me that his hydration was with his partner, who was way ahead. I was quite flabbergasted. I offered him the last swig of water in my bottle, which wasn't much, but that was the best I could do in that dire situation. Hope he got well hydrated at the Asrama waterpoint.

Runner in TNF100 black tee: Noticed him while agonizing through the toture-maze that was known as Hill 256. Dressed in The North Face 100 black event cotton tee, rather pale and slight of build, I would not have made him for a runner. Overtook him, but he caught up at the Asrama waterpoint. Then another runner gave him a pep-talk "don't walk or you won't make the checkpoint", and immediately he took off like an energizer rabbit. We were very impressed, to say the least. Unfortunately, we caught up with him at the BTVC checkpoint where he was awaiting extraction.

Runner with spray: One of the 100km solo runners passed us along Belukar track and seeing me limping, he offered me his spray. Take it, he said, I don't need it. Clearly he didn't need it. We saw him returning on his first lap while we were along RRR, and there he was, overtaking us on his second lap! Incredible! I politely declined and thanked him. I didn't take a good look at his tag, but my guess is he is the first runner up (Yeo Kim Hong).

One of many casualties: Just before BTVC checkpoint on the return leg, we found a runner sitting by the side. PK knew him - he was a regular in the armed forces. We'd seen him in the progressive runs, and he was a strong runner. What happened? Cramps! Another victim of the hot foul weather that succumbed to the C monster. We passed him again on the way out of the checkpoint, when he was heading for an early ride back.

Companion runners from BTVC: There was a kind of camaraderie among the stragglers, of whom I was a chief culprit. A gentleman, who told me, when we met along Gangsa track, that his mind told him to run, but his legs wouldn't cooperate and that he had a blister on his foot. He contemplated catching the shuttle after meeting up with his partner at the RR water station, but several minutes later, we were surprised when he ran past us. We cheered him on! Another team - a gentleman and lady (the gentleman was a real gentleman coz he was carrying more than his share of hydration for his partner) - who also passed us along Rifle Range Road. We also cheered them on. Clearly they were making a last burst of fire, just as we did from the BTVC. When we passed them (not intentional, mind you) 1 or 2 km before the finishing line, we knew that their last burst of fire, like mine, was inadequate. But they finished the race! That was our mutual shared objective, which we achieved.

Volunteers at waterpoints: Mostly youngsters who were helping out - a big thank you in case I didn't have the energy, or was too dazed to say that yesterday. I wasn't my usual cheerful self after hours out in the hot sun. But the one look that I managed to process - a look that vacillated between "crazy" and "pity". Yes, we were a little crazy back there.

To appreciate how challenging the route and slopes are, see photos.
Some interesting preliminary results:
Winner of 100 km solo event: Yun Yan Qiao, who finished two hours ahead of the runner up.
100 km solo: 21 finishers (out of 32)
100 km duo open: 126 teams (out of appr 180 teams)
100 km women: 14 teams
50 km duo: 277 teams
50 km women: 40 teams

Congratulations to friends in The Middle Aged, Hunk and Babe, Gray Matter and other co-sufferers!

Just for the record, team fanaticsrus finished in 125th position in the 100km duo open category with a time of 9:30.

Will be back next year to collect the finisher medal.

The North Face 100 km Duo

If there's one thing that I learnt about endurance races, it is this - many things could go wrong even with the best preparation. So what went wrong today? Lest I forget, I should first mention what went right.

First, our race strategy is fundamentally sound - run 8 min, walk 1 min and walk the inclines. Even Matt, the sweeper thought this was a sensible strategy for first timers. Next, it was really good to be at the end of the pack, so we had a good chance to talk to Matt, especially about his ultra races in Ghobi, Namibia, Antarctic! The man! It was also nice to catch up with Spiderwoman, Mohan and many others. Especially an honor to run with Shawn, our own Singaporean Kona Ironlady who just completed her race last weekend! Great to catch up with Alex and Eugene about their putrajaya race.

What didn't go right was, well, cramps. Plain and simple. Starting from 20 - 21 km mark, just as we went into the restricted area at Lor Asmara. I had been taking the electrolyte pills that worked for PK and coach, but in part the hot weather and heavy sweating meant that I was losing too much salt. I increased the frequency of ingestion, but when surmounting the barren Hill 256, another bout of cramping came in. The cramping episodes were dehabilitating - had to wait a few seconds for the cramps to pass. Too many slopes to climb in the hot blazing sun. We reached the first checkpoint within the time limit, but the damage had been done.

All the way back to Bt Timah Visitor Center, I struggled with cramps. At the checkpoint there, we were informed that we missed the CP cutoff, and if we were confident that we could complete. Sure, with another 12 km to go, but the question was when. We made a concerted effort to run the last stretch, with 2.5 hours to go, but the C monster came back to haunt me. The bottom line is that we didn't manage to make the 9 hour cut-off, and didn't get the finisher medal.

To add insult to injury, I accidentally deleted/reset the run from my garmin before downloading - so nothing to show whatsoever.

WD finished with plenty of time to spare, and heartiest congratulations to him! Alex finished in 7.5 hours, and he just raced putrajaya two weeks ago and the salomon 10k last weekend. Hope Eugene would be ok as his knee injury flared up about 10k into the race.

What did I learn? That TNF 100 is no respecter of persons - even the fit may not make it. And that we should respect the terrain, weather and distance. Definitely our preparation were inadequate.

What else can I say? We were glad that we didn't give up and take the shuttle bus back, although we had two or three opportunities. The most important is that I accomplished the ultra marathon goal I set two years ago.

Last but not least, this is the toughest race I'd ever done so far.

Honor roll: Salomon Comp XA, 2XU tights

TLog: a taper variation

Under any other circumstances, I would have gone out on the streets for my taper runs, after all, it had been two years since I last visited Macau. But being stuck in a conference and seeing the low lying mist (smog?), I decided to hit the treadmill instead.

Four Seasons hotel is only one year old, and like most new hotels in Macau, it is ostentatious and opulent. The most recent hotels are bigger, taller and louder than those built more than 2 years ago. Being away from the old Macau town has its advantages.

The gym at Four Seasons is huge. About 10 treadmills, half a dozen cycling machines and weights etc. The gym overlooks the adjacent Venetian hotel, Hyatt and the Hard Rock hotel (didn't realize they'd diversified).

Tue: 1k warm up, 3x1k at 6 min pace, 4 min recovery, 1k cool down
Wed: 10 k easy at HR 145

Could remember when was the last time I ran on the treadmill. It's boring, but fortunately, better treadmills have TV screens mounted on them. So that helped to pass time.

Traveling back to SIN today.

OCBC cycle 2010

Registered for the OCBC cycle 2010 40km challenge event.

Opted for the team category with JN, SY and PK under the team name of bike4COSI. :)

New cycling route and SCSM training run

This was a tricky week mainly because I had many guests in town for a symposium. Between hosting lunches, dinners, research seminars and of course the symposium, I had to juggle my schedule around. In reverse order, this was what I did this week:

Sun - a 44 km ride covering the same Mandai route as last week, with the addition of a detour to the end of Rifle Range Road. IN first suggested this a couple of weeks ago. Apparently TriBob uses this training route frequently; in fact, during our 36 km run last week, we saw a number of cyclists going up and down RRR.

From the BTVC, the road starting inclining, gradually at first and then increasing in gradient. The slope was not that bad, but it was the length of it that sapped our energy. In fact, I felt the burn in my quads (the left in particular), the first in many months since I'd felt that. Two nice declines, especially the last, where we reached a top speed of 48 kph. That meant that we had a tough first incline to negotiate on the way back. PK was very strong on RRR - overtook me and holding the lead to the end, and then putting a large lead on the way back. What would he do with a better bike?!

Great training route - the 3.5km long RRR. Was hesitant on the descent as I couldn't see very well in the early hours of the morning. And I didn't know the lay of the land too well.

Sat - a 22 km PMC run with DW and OPK. OPK ran just 5 km, and returned to PMC. The two of us slogged through the increasingly hot morning, at a modest pace of about 8 min/km. Took a couple of breaks, finishing in over 3 hours. This was the second in our training runs in the lead up to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon for PMC running community

Fri - R&R

Thu - R&R

Wed - 8.5km trail run with increasing pace.

Tue - 30 lap easy swim

Mon - R&R

I guess the key question is how do my legs feel? They felt much better this week, even though I did 36k last Sat compared to the previous 30k. No pain in the right knee, which was a relief. Still some stiffness so I did a lot of stretches on the off days. The weekend workouts were good to burn off all the excess calories I took in during the week as a result of hosting lunches and dinners.

Nothing much to do except to taper for NF100 next Sat.

Tokyo marathon 2010

Received an email today informing that I was successful in my ballot for Tokyo marathon 2010. My good friend in Tokyo heeded my advice this year and registered as a Singaporean, and he was successful as well. Good for him!

We were to run TM together this year, but he chose to register using his Tokyo address, and no surprise, he was unsuccessful. That was a big let down for him. It was apparent that foreigners have a higher chance of being selected. In fact, it is rumored that all foreigners would be selected. How true, I do not know.

The problem is this: TM will be 3 weeks before the Aviva 70.3. And MBH is unconvinced that I should run TM again. Well, I have till Oct 30 to decide, after which the slot would be released to those on the waiting list.

What say you?

Enchanted forest

It was about 16+ km into our run when we entered the enchanted forest. At least that's what it appeared to be. Trees overhead, dimmed light, wet trails and above all, a mist that floated around us. It was the first time I'd seen such a scene, much less in the dense catchment area of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Of course there's a good explanation for it. It had been raining, first drizzle then a topical downpour. The trails were muddy and streams of water were gushing down the slopes. Dark thunder clouds overhead and dense foliage added to the effect. Viola.

We were on our last LSD run before NF100 in two weeks' time. Starting off at MR, the four of us (PK, WD, IN - whom we coerced to join us!) went anticlockwise, via Rifle Range Link/Road toward BTVC in a simulation of what we hoped would be the actual race route. We were doing our normal 8:1 run:walk + walk up every slope strategy, and managed to clock a decent 8 to 9 min/km pace for the first 10 km.

A pit stop at BTVC when the drizzle started, and the customary walk up BT summit. The climb up was much easier than the climb down, no thanks to MRK. It took us 50 minutes (incl the rest stop) to cover these 4 km.

The rain started pouring down heavily by the time we reached Meeting Point 3 at Zhenghua and Chestnut Ave. As usual, we picked up our spears heading toward the old biker course, on the lookout for vicious dogs. My defence was to go for the nose when attacked (just as I would a shark when diving) - at least in theory!

HR was below 160 most of the way except when summiting BT and toward Ganga loop. Fatigue started setting in on the return leg, and my pace slowed. I started shuffling my feet and tripped a few times before a tumble. Good thing I was not hurt. Reminded myself to pick up my feet thereafter.

A little lost at the Durian loop, and lost some time there. I tried the back to start navigation tool on my garmin, but both attempts simply resulted in the unit shutting down. I did not check whether the watch was on, and missed about 4 km of the journey back (hence the fly line on the map).

IN's ITB acted up, and we were gradually falling back. We eventually separated from the other two at the RR road, and brisk walked. At MR, we started a slow run again. Unfortunately, I missed a turn and we ended up at Lornie Road. We ran the last 3 km before a well deserved breakfast at the cafe.

Took us 6:45 to finish 37.5 km. Here's the breakdown:

first 10 km (MR to BTVC): 8 to 9 min/km
11 to 14 km (climb up and down BT summit): 50 min including rest stop at BTVC
15 to 18 km (Gangsa loop): about 8 to 10 pace due to heavy rain
19 to 27 km (back to BTVC): 9 to 12 pace
balance (back to MR): 10 to 13 pace - more walk than run due to ITB

View run in Garmin connect.

The positives:
Compression tights and electrolyte pills helped! So we are going to stick with what works.
Cool weather
No blisters despite wet shoes and socks. The blister guard helped, so did the injini socks.

The negatives:
How would our pace be affected by hot weather?
Long pit stops
Check points cut off

We only found out about the check point cut off times when we collected our race pack that afternoon. Need to work out a strategy ;|

Found out that our route on race day will bring us further north to Mandai and the famous hill 265. The good news is that hill 265 is no more a hill, just level ground.

Counting down to Oct 24!

Congratulations to friends who completed Putrajaya 70.3

AY and his friends completed the Putrajaya 70.3 race last weekend. AY came in at 6:13, an incredible time given that he only completed his OD in Bintan this year. Already, he and his friends have completed the Desaru long distance tri. So Putrajaya is their second 70.3!

The good news is that the waters are clean and calm. Pencilling in Putrajaya for next year!

TLog: preparing for another LSD trail run

Mon: rest
Tue: 1 hour easy trail run
Wed: 1 hour easy swim
Thu: rest
Fri: 6 k easy on-road run

Tomorrow: 36 km trail run. The last LSD before NF100.

The things that happen on our bike rides

Warning: this post is not intended to disparage anyone, but merely to take a good humored look at ourselves.

Strange things happen on our bike rides. It started with a wheel going into a drain grating, resulting in a puncture. It took four of us and half an hour to fix the problem. Which was to chuck the bike into the support van and look for someone who knew what to do.

Then not once, but twice, someone in our riding group fell when stopping at the end of our ride. And it happened almost at the very same spot. One moment, they were cruising along preparing to stop and next moment, they were on the ground. These two incidents didn't occur at the same time, but a few weeks apart.

And not to forget our rainy rides. The worst was the Changi coastal ride. It started just as we were going toward Selarang, and then it poured and we took cover. The rain abated and we started off, and it poured again. Finally we made a beeline for shelter, towels and coffee. We were called "pathetic" by a significant other.

How could we forget the time when a spoke broke and we spent 15 minutes trying to unstuck the wheel. Finally, somehow, we did, and J had to wobble for the next 25 km.

Not too long ago, a chain got derailed when climbing and shifting and it took 5 minutes to fix the problem. (Notice that we were getting better at fixing problems?)

Then this morning, it happened to me. We were doing good riding from Tampines towards Punggol. I felt a thud and something dropped off. I checked the lights, shifters, brakes and looked down a few times, but nothing seemed amissed. Several meters further on, when we came to a traffic light, I was slowing down and something felt totally wrong. Couldn't place it. Then IN told me that my pedal arm came off. Good thing it was lying just two feet away.

Apparently the nut came off (several km back, I felt a cranking sound at the traffic junction). We walked back to find the nut, but no luck in the poor light. That was the end of my ride. Took a taxi home and rejoined the gang at Simpang Bedok for breakfast and had a good laugh about it.

Wonder if anyone else had their pedal arms fall off? Or am I the only joker?

Primal

There's something primal about running among trees and dense foliage with a spear in one's hand. Minutes ago, we were told by two bikers that there were three dogs that loved chasing bikers and (less so) runners. So when WD picked up a bamboo stick, I thought that was a good idea and picked up a fallen branch (my makeshift spear). Then we entered this densely vegetated trail, almost fully covered overheard.

No, we didn't encounter any dogs, just a chicken running away from the sight of us mighty hunters.

The truth is that if I were a caveman depending on my hunting (and running) skills, I wouldn't last very long.

It was just a 15 km trail run from BTVC. The plan was to go via Hindhede loop - Diary Farm pass - Belukar track - Zhenghua Park - Gangsa track - u-turn point at 7.5km (hope to reach Gangsa loop), then back track via Belukar track and Lornie track to BTVC.

At Zhenghua Park, we decided not to go via Chestnut Drive, but rather the PCN toward Bt Panjang. That led us beside the BKE and we found an underpass beneath the BKE to cut across to the east side. We were at a farm, and took the northerly track which eventually led to Gangsa track. We managed to reach Gangsa loop, and had a breather at the expressway junction, marking 7.5 km.

The weather was hot and I wished I'd brought along a bottle of water to cool myself. On the way back, we took the longer Gangsa track - hence the dog episode.

Belukar track became quite familiar after a number of runs through it. It was "painful" to run in the open part of this track and we were relieved to get back into shade.

Right after passing the rifle range, I ran out of hydration, but it was only 2km more to go. BTVC was a welcome sight.

Even though this was only 15km (taking 2:30), I kinda struggled today. Attributed( conveniently) it to the weather and heat.

View in Garmin connect.