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

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!

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.

North Face 100 Singapore 2009: registered

Signed up with PK for the Singapore installment of North Face 100, scheduled for Oct 24. Each runner are to cover 50 km within 9 hours time limit. This is a trail run with route made known only one week before the actual race.

Our team name: fanaticsRus
Some other names: painmongers, thereasonwerun, weluvP.A.I.N.

And now to train for this race ...

The North Face 100

This is the route for the Singapore NF100 race on Oct 4, 2008.
8 hours cut off. Hydration packs required. Many DNF.



Great pix and description from teelee!