Running with horses: Week summary (16-22 April) - First place in Mt Mee Classic Relay Marathon

Monday

Rest

Tuesday

Am - 14.9km (210m elevation). 1:12

Pm - 7.7km (100m). 0:35

Wednesday

Am - 22.7km (300m) 1:54

Pm - 1.9km (flat) 0:08 & 4.5km (30m) 0:21

Thursday

Pm - 2 x (8x200m) with 45 sec break in between

Friday

Pm - 12.2km (110m) 1:00

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Am - Mt Mee Classic Relay Marathon 21km (750m elevation). 1:41

Pm - Recovery run. 7.7km (100m). 0:39

Total distance: 92.6km (excluding speed work)
Total elevation: 1600m
Total time: 7hr30min
Average speed: 4.85 min/km

The highlight for this week is definitely the Mt Mee Classic Marathon.

I spent the week thinking how i was going to squeeze in enough mileage while tapering and recovering adequately for the Mt Mee Marathon at the end of the week. So the plan was to run hard early in the week and slowly reducing the distance toward the end of the week. Easier said than done, coz the temptation to run more than i should is always there. In my mind, I know that there is no point in logging these junk miles, because they only make the statistic look good while contributing nothing in me a better runner. But.. The legs just are too itchy to get on the road. :D

Anyway to cut to the chase, I was quite excited about Mt Mee Marathon. The terrain is hilly, much like The Most Beautiful Thing (TMBT) ultra-trail marathon in Borneo. I know this will be a lead-up to the ultimate race TMBT in September. Initially i signed up with Richard, my surgical registrar, who is a husband and a father of three, a surgeon-trainee, and an accomplished iron-man for the Marathon Relay Category (i.e. 21km each). But he was rostered to work on the race day, so I had to find another partner. During our Thursday training with Caboolture Road Runners, Ian happily volunteered to run with me. He is 47 year old, a father of four, a carpenter, and sub-40 10km runner. We are a go!

I woke up at 3.45am doing the same pre-race routine. Chocolate banana protein shake, cereal with nuts, put all my gears on, and spent some time reading the bible. The passage was about finding refuge in God. How apt. This is my first race of the year, and there is considerable amount of anxiety in it. But I know that in all seasons, we can always seek refuge in our Father in heaven.

The race began with two other runners and i at the front. At about 5km mark, one of them pulled away from us and we soon lost sight of him. The other runner stick closely behind me as we continued at a constant pace. Ian had previously warned me of a vicious hill at 14km mark and 18km. I spent the whole time anticipating it, and conserving enough fuel in the tank to make those hills. At 10km, the watch read 42m17s. Good pace.

We soon reached the 14km mark. The watch read just under an hour. To me, this is where the race began. I ran the first part of the hill, shortening my stride and increasing my cadence. All the time, I was trying to stay below the red line (i.e. keeping my HR between 160-170), which is where my aerobic threshold is. Whenever my heart rate goes above 170, I would slow down to a hands-on-knee position to do power hike. Whenever it goes below 160, I would start running.

Soon at 16km mark, I saw the the first runner ahead. He was struggling with the hill. I soon undertook him and shaking the third runner off (i never saw him again after the first hill). During the downhill part between 17-18km, I made my charge, hoping to increase my lead in front to prevent any sort of a final attack by the runner in second position. It worked. At 18km, I came to another vicious hill, and i was trying hard to stay focused and thinking of the finish line. I knew i can finish in first position if i can put in a good meaningful amount of effort. At the same time, I wanted to increase the lead so that Ian would have an easier time for the second leg. Finally at the peak the hill in 20.5km mark, it was just flat road ahead and I sprinted all the way to the finish and tapped Ian's hand. 1hr40m52s for the first leg.

The runner in second and third position came in 3 mins and 5 mins respectively. I later found out the both of them are sub-3hr marathon runners. Phew.. I felt so relieved. After chatting with the runners a bit, I went to my car and drove the finish line to wait for Ian. I was confident that barring all accidents, he would make it in first place. Ian is well-known for pushing himself real hard in every training session or race. (he was always in front of me in the speed sessions! :D)

True enough, he came back in style, crossing the finish line in first place. The time was 3hr20m43s. Yo ho!

The rest of the morning was spent chatting with runners and enjoying the camaraderie. Two of the guys who participated in the Solo Marathon category broke the course record (3hr47m), finishing at 3hr41m and 3hr43m respective. The first and second female also finished in great style, with a time of 3hr54m and 3hr57m respectively. Wow. They are all really fast runners!

Now i can understand why some world-class athletes choose only to participate in certain events while missing out many others. Running a good race requires solid, uninterrupted preparation, adequate tapering, and then, an all-out mental, physical and emotional onslaught in the race. This is not it. After the race, it takes time to recover and recuperate physically and mentally too. The whole process takes months. If there are too many races, it only disrupts the training program (in that you can't run too much in the week where you have a race and you always have to taper before the race), it is mentally draining too. The reason why so many Malaysian and Singaporean elite runners cannot perform well is because many of them just race and race and race.

Enough for now. It's been a big day. I want to sleep soon. Good night everyone. :)