6th place in Flinder's Tour 50.9km - a disappointing finish

When i signed up for this race, my intention was to do well in it, given that I have home ground advantage (the race starts 8km from where i live), and more than that, it will allow me to see how well prepared I am leading up to TMBT 100 and Northface 100 Singapore. I told people that my target is go under 5 hours, but really, I was hoping for a top 3 finish and a sub 4.30 finish.

I began the day with the same race day routine. Made my protein shake, ate some cereal and then spent some time reading my bible to prepare my heart for what's ahead. The verse that stood out to me is from Isaiah 40.31 - 'But those who put their hope in God will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. I know this is the longest distance i have done this year, but following a 5:15 finish in Northface 50km and 5:36 finish in TMBT 50km last year, I am no stranger to the distance now. My aim is just to run strong from start to finish.

The race started with a climb to Mt Beerburrum. I ran in front with Julian Spence (he would eventually finish second). He was leading all the way till the peak, and i followed closely behind with a hands-on-knee power hiking posture. We ascended and descended the mountain in 20-21 mins, and from then on, it's mostly trail running. He set off with a cracking pace, and from the way his legs kick off with each stride, I know this guy is a hell of a runner.  His stride is so efficient and effortless, and there is absolutely no way i could stick with him. My heart rate soared to a 177 high, and my breathing became extremely laboured. A few runners started passing me at this stage, and despite my desire to keep up with them, I know I had to slow down to allow my heart to assume its usual work-load. The quick and intense start in the beginning was not without its ill effect; my stomach came to a stall, nausea started creeping into my brain, and my stride became shorter and heavier.

From then on, I slipped into a low gear and just carried on at a more sustainable pace. I was probably in 6th position then. I caught up with the 5th runner in another section of climb, and would never see him again. At that time, given my over-worked state, and some surprisingly fast speeds for the front runners, I had to adjust my goal. My aim then, was to maintain my current position (5th) and finish in top 5, and maybe, just maybe, catch one more person in front of me. 

The guy in 4th position was in sight initially, but as we ran on, he slowly pulled away from me. 'Relax, this is only the first lap, i.e first 27km. Maybe he would slow down in the second half', is what i was telling myself. Little did i know that when i reached the U-turn for the second half of the race (the 4th guy was probably about 1 min ahead), it was me that hit the wall. The second half turned out to be a complete struggle on my part. My quads became to burn, and my whole body started to cramp up. For some strange reason, I could not swallow much calorie in this race. I knew that if i tried, i would surely regurgitate. For the entire 50.9km, I only took 3 gels (which are 300 calorie in total).

When we reached the second last aid station (with 8km to go), I thought i saw someone took off from behind me. There were a few 25km runners with me at that time so i thought it was one of them. I did not crank up my speed then. Had i known that it was another 51.9km runner, i would have done so. Anyway I continued running all the way, albeit in a much slower pace than the first half, and finished the race in 4hr33min. At the finish line, i was greeted by the 5th runner, who told that he finished 2 mins before me, and thought i was going to chase him down. Haha.. I didn't think i would have any strength to do so, and i was just glad to finish this race.

After the race, it was the usual catching up with the rest of the runners. I met Julian and started chatting with him. He is from Victoria and he is here for a weekend to do the race. He told that he didn't save enough for the last part, and was overtaken by someone else in the last 4km (he did 4hr12min). As we chatted on, I soon realised I was in the presence of a great runner. He won the Great Ocean Road 100km last year in a record time of 9hr58m, and his PB for marathon is 2:27. In his list of accolade is a PB of 14m30s for 5000m and 31m for 10km. Geez.. I knew I was right about him when I first saw him took off in the beginning of the race. We also talked about other topics like injuries, nutrition, training etc. A great and humble guy indeed.

All in all, although it was a disappointing finish for me, I did learn a lot. I learned about pacing, and how to avoid stomach woes in a race, and more importantly, how to improve myself for the future. I know i still have a lot of work to do leading up to TMBT and northface 100km, so the next 5 weeks will be an exciting time for me.

I am thankful for a yet another wonderful (and painful at the same time :D) day out in the trail, for meeting some great guys, and for a time of 4hr33m for 50.9km, given that i only had 3 weeks of solid preparation before that.

God, thank you for everything. :D

Before the start - Committing the run to God in prayer

Start

Julian - look at his powerful stride (forefoot strike and a high knee drive)

The guys in 3rd-5th position in the first lap

Panting .. 

Ben - the runner who overtook me in the second lap

At the U turn to the second lap

About 10km to go

Week Summary (16 -26 July) - Preparing for a showdown in Flinder's tour 50km

Friday (20 July)

Am - 16km (trail). 1:25

Saturday

Am - 23.5km (Trail). 2:03

Sunday

Pm - 32.5km (Trail). 2:41

Monday

Pm - 15.3km (Mt Tibrogargan). 1:46

Tuesday

Pm - 29.5km (Trail). 2:27

Wednesday (25 July)

Pm - 12.2km (Road). Recovery run. 1:01

Total distance: 129km
Total time: 11hr23min
Average speed: 5.29 min/km

It's my final week of training before tapering down for Flinder's tour 50km in Glasshouse Mountain. It's my second trail race this year (first race since i returned from a string of woeful injuries in May-June), and I am definitely feeling very excited about it. This week I have been running in the race route, exploring the area and attempting some of the climbs. The route is undoubtedly challenging, beginning with a steep climb to the peak Mt Beerburrum and descending thereafter, giving the quads and calves a good wake up call before the next 48km of running. I definitely prefer to run in hilly terrain, to feel the calves and hamstrings burn when you ascend and the wind blowing on your face when you descend.


Anyway i don't feel like writing too much now. Will update more after my race this Sunday.

Been running in this forest the past 3 weeks

At the peak of Mt Tibrogargan

Tibrogargan

Francis (right) - the race director of Flinder's tour, discussing logistical issues with Steve

Nothing feels better than lying on the trampoline after a busy night shift in ED

Surgeon in the making - repairing my thong :D

Finished product :D

Week Summary (9-15 July) - A wet week

Monday

Am - 15km (Road) ~210m. 1:16

Tuesday

Am - 18.4km (Road) ~230m. 1:33

Pm - 9.2km (Road) ~90m. 0:44

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Am - 18.4km (Road) ~230m 1:28

Friday

Am - 18.4km (Road) ~230m. 1:32

Saturday

Am - 15km (Road) ~210m. 1:14

Sunday

Pm - 37.7km (Trail) ~700m. 3:39

Total distance: 132.1km
Total time: 11hr26mins
Average speed: 5.19 min/km


It's been a wet week indeed in Glasshouse Mountain. I know there was no way I would run in the trail and get my feet trapped in the muddy soil. So i decided to do some road-running instead. I was feeling really strong throughout the week, averaging more than 15km per day. Many years ago, one full hour of running would mean a great deal to me and I rarely ever ran a full hour in any day. If i did, it would be a great achievement and i would spend the next few days resting. But now, one hour just seems only like a warm up session to me. I hardly broke into sweat and my heart felt like it has just completed stretching and ready to go into a full workout.

I think i have definitely grown as a runner.

Time passes really quickly when i am out running. The surrounding trees just seem to move in the same rhythm, the ground moves underneath my feet, the sun brightens up my gloomy skin, and the wind gives me the much-needed push in my uphill surge. My mind is able to still itself, filtering out the unnecessary noise coming from within and without, and allowing the internal tension and burden of the yester-days to find some peace and solace. There are times where i question the utility of such exercise, coz my mind is not put in active use. It is very much like sitting on a rock on top of a mountain with my eyes closed and hands in my lap for hours. The pious side of me tends to undermine such inward-seeking, self-absorbed kind of exercises, as it promotes an unhealthy focus on self and the mind is not actively engaged with the world. It just does not serve any good to anyone other than myself.  On the other hand, running is a much-needed escape for me to connect with God through His creation. After a long day at work and dealing with difficult patients and bosses, I just want to get out there and feel the warmth of the sun again.

I don't know how to explain to people about my running. And i must admit that often it feels like a very selfish thing to do. The time that i spend in running could definitely be spent in say, helping in children's home, reading the bible from cover to cover, or even brushing up my medical knowledge and skills. Eric Liddel - the Olympic gold medalist who is renowned for abandoning his favourite event 100m coz it was held on Sunday and opted instead for 400m (which is an event he hardly ran for), and won it, said: 'I feel God's pleasure when i run.' I cannot emulate his level of faith but I can definitely identify with what he said. I feel God's pleasure when i run. I feel Jesus running next to me, telling me that He loves me, encouraging me when i am down, and sometimes, telling me when to stop and run home. I don't feel His presence all the times. Sometimes i don't feel His presence at all. But whenever i do, my spirit becomes alive!

To cap it off, I want to end with Eric Liddel's quote, after winning his 400m gold medal in

You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race. 

Scenery along the way

The road ahead is still long 

Muddy

Foot spa

Washing my shoes after the run

My favourite post-run food: yoghurt and nuts (with high level of poly-unsaturated fat) and Mix-Berry-milk shake (with high level of anti-oxidants)

Little Joel - he is going to be our page boy during our wedding! :D

Week Summary (2-8 July) - A good beginning

Monday

Am - 15.4km (trail). ~230m elevation gain. 1:30

Pm - 9.2km (road). ~100m elevation gain. 0:44

Tuesday

Am - 13km (trail). ~180m. 1:19

Wednesday

Am - Mountain-biking 25km. 0:55
        7.8km (road). ~110m. 0:38

Thursday 

Am - 19.3km (trail). ~250m. 1:45

Pm - 2 x (8x200m) speed work

Friday

Pm - 27.7km (trail). ~600m. 2:52

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Am - 13.9km (trail).  ~436m . 1:15

Total distance: 106.3km (excluding speed work)
Total elevation gained: 1906m
Total time: 10 hr 3 mins
Average speed: 5.67 min/km


This week marked the beginning of my return to trail running. Though slower, I am enjoying the process of placing one foot ahead of the other in the natural environment. The mud, the wind, the sound of rustling trees, the rocks, all allowed me to be lost in the rhythm of running. I don't realise how fast time passes when i am out running in the bush.

As i said in my previous post, i am struggling to work in emergency department. Being a new junior stuff, I have to work hard to survive in the hostile environment. The nurses aren't very helpful. Most of them just kinda give us the silent treatment, some even outright reject our request for help. Their attitude is kinda like, 'Ok, you are a junior staff, you got to learn some respect in the department and know who's the boss here.' Maybe they too, have been overworked. Or maybe they were once abused by doctors, and now they have to be mean and cold to stand their ground. I don't blame them. I think it's best to learn how to do some of the nursing job e.g. taking medication from the board and giving to the patients, making beds, taking stool sample from patients ourselves etc. So now I rarely ask nurses for their help anymore. Why depend on others if you can do it yourself?

I thank God for this season of working life, for the challenges that I have to deal with, lest i become comfortable and complacent. Adversity can destroy someone, or make one's heart grow cold, or it can build character. I want the latter. I must stay humble, and be willing to accept criticism and mean attitude from the hospital staff. This after all, is part and parcel of living in this fallen world.

I am reminded once again that Jesus Himself too, was abused by people who didn't believe in Him. They falsely accused him, prosecuted him, rejected him, and even tried to kill him. Yet He said: 'Love your enemy, be kind to those who abuse you'. This is only possible when we see the world with the eyes of God instead of the eyes of sins. When we look through the eyes of sins, we begin to be filled with indignant anger, and we want justice to be served and the perpetrator to be punished. When we look through the eyes of God, we see the world with compassion, and we begin to see the intrinsic worth that is in every person's life, even in the lives of drug addicts and murderer and the mean persons in our office.

Again i think about what is in God that made Him want to save mankind when we were totally corrupt in our heart and mind. Why did Jesus choose to die on the cross for the very person that tried to kill him even though there is no guaranteed result that the person would change? I think the answer is love.

Gearing up for the long run

Trail

Trail

At the end of long run - exhausted!

Stopping by in a waterfall in Mt Mee

Ian - my running partner

Battle ground

Emergency department is like a battle ground.

The moment i stepped into ED, all I see is people rushing around, nurses busy attending to six patients at a time, patients of all ages and gender lying lifelessly on the beds in their respective cubicles, patient's waiting list getting longer despite the doctors' best effort to see all the patients. In the waiting area, a growing discontentment abounds. People feeling restless after waiting for hours, some get frustrated after seeing people who turn out later than them get seen by doctors first, supposedly because they are sicker.

I find each day a struggle. There has never been a day gone by with me feeling good about what i have done. Lord, please help me. I feel like i am drowning...

Time to hit the trail

My run in KL marathon (where i did 21km) has finally concluded my road race for the year. Now it's time to hit the trail!

Trail running is different from road running. It's more technical, uses different groups of muscles (due to the uneven surfaces and undulating terrain), more dirty, more fun and gives you a greater sense of joy as it allows you to interact with the nature in an honest and simple way! However, for the same amount of distance, trail running is usually slower than road running. Even if you are running on flat trail, you just won't run as fast as you would in a road. Don't ask me why.

So far my running has been plagued with injury after injury. I must admit that despite thinking that i know a lot about running, i actually don't understand some essential parts of it as i always end up hurting myself, either because i am overly greedy and run more than i should, or not paying attention to some of the warning signs that precede an injury.

I am more mature in my running now. (I hope!). I am going to apply all i know to prevent myself from getting injured. I have signed up for Flinders Tour 50km at the end of July in preparation for TMBT 100km in Sept. Some of the best local runners are running this race so i am excited about seeing how i would stack myself against them.

Dear God, i know You love me. You know what's best for me. I am going to surrender all to You. Most importantly Lord, please help me to love you and the people around more. Help me to worship you with all that I am. Help me to experience Your love through running. In You I commit my soul. In Jesus' name, amen. :)

The trail

Nice scenery along the way

Sunny day!

My new New Balance MT110 (a great pair of trail shoes indeed!)

Same shoe in different colour

Asics Piranha (this will be my next pair of road shoes)

A fruitful trip indeed

Can't believe the past 10 days went by so quickly. Before i knew it, I am back in the emergency department in Caboolture Hospital clerking new cases.

My trip back home has been a really packed but fruitful one. When I landed in LCCT on Saturday afternoon, the first thing in my mind was to finish up the proposal video that i was making for my gf. I WAS GOING TO PROPOSE TO HER THAT NIGHT AND MY VIDEO WAS NOT DONE YET! Haha.. That night, after a romantic dinner in Fukuya Restaurant (Japanese), I blind-folded her and brought her home, where all her best friends and family members have gathered. The garden was decorated with colourful lightings, photos, flowers etc. There and then, I showed her the video that i have made and proposed to her in front of her family and best friends. How could she say no? :D :D :D

The garden

On both knees. 'Will you marry me?'

Sharing intimate moment

This is soon followed by meet the parents session. Both sides of the family have a good time getting to know one another, and i am just really thankful that Mao's parents are very understanding and my parents were co-operative on that day too. We had a great lunch in Westlake restaurant with every member of the families in Sunway hotel!

Meet the parents session

Celebrating Fathers' day

Little Eli. Doesn't he look like Channy?

Little Joel

We traveled to Port Dickson on the same day for our long-awaited family trip! Family trip is something that i have always looked forward and i really enjoy spending time with all my siblings. We all came from difficult family background with divorced parents and tight finances. But the one thing that i am really proud of is the close bond that we share with one another. We spent the next three days having devotion and sharing, playing volleyball, beach soccer, Mafia, makan-makan (eating sessions), and getting to know a new member of our family - Eli Tee! Eli Tee is about 4 month old when we saw him and he was really cute. Together with Joel, they make the cutest and most adorable members of our family now. All my siblings brought their partners along so it was a good time for the ladies to bond together. I am thankful that Zoe, Zhong and Mao can click quite well. They spent most of their time talking about wedding, the latest gossips, and about their work too.

Volleyball game

Time in the lagoon with my sister

After trip, i spent the next few days running a few errands with my gf. We went from Midvalley, to Putrajaya (for marriage registration), to her new house, to furniture shop, to Shrek musical, to meet our pastor for pre-marital counseling, and to her church for a conference on homosexuality and pornography addiction, to meet some friends and to play volleyball with my old mates. In between of these, I managed to squeeze in some running. I was glad that i was able to run without any pain now.

Shrek musical

With Farook and Yinn Cher. Oh how i miss playing volleyball with them!

Our new dog - Little Holly

Then came Sunday - a big day for Rachel and I. With some last minute training, i decided to run the half marathon (21km) using Jeremy Boy's race bib. I had no expectation for the run because i know I had been injured for most part of May and June. I just thought I would go in and do my best. Wearing my IMU jersey as usual, I arrived in Dataran Merdeka seeing thousands of runners. I was really far back in the starting line and i wasted quite a lot of time in the beginning trying to squeeze past runners. The run was very well organised and there were a lot of water station along the route. I enjoyed the run a lot. It felt good to be running in home soil once again.

Crossing the finish line in 1:31:06

My ever supportive gf

Shaharudin (middle) - the men champion in Marathon open category

After the run, we went to Rachel's church - Sibkl. After church service, it was Rachel's baptism. I have been waiting for this day for a long time now! I really thank God for everything that He has done in Rachel's life. I know i was not going to miss her baptism for anything, so i secretly went to the ED coordinator to request for a delay start to my work so i could stay in Malaysia longer. Watching Rachel's excitement before the baptism, I was just so touched because i know she too, had been waiting for this day for a long time. She has come a long way to arrive at where she is.

Mao, I really pray God would chain our hearts to His and to each other. I pray that you will grow each day in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and be a shining light to people around. :)

Pastor Chew (left) in Sibkl

Rachel's baptism

Thank God for her. :)

All in all I had a great time in Malaysia. It's sad that my trip had come to an end. Now I am really looking forward to going home again in September!