Sunday, October 28, 2012

Northface 100 Singapore 2012


Last year, i had a difficult time at TNF Singapore when doing 50km. There were a few mishaps notably some dishonest behaviour by a few elite runners whose names i will not reveal here and i remembered bonking in the last 10km of the race. I remembered the 'suffering' vividly and i was hoping for a different outcome this year in the 100km category.

TNF 2011
Torn calf sleeve
Rachel sewing up skilfully :D
Pre-TNF meditation. Psalms 91.

Before the race, Ford and i chanced upon each other on facebook and we agreed to run together for as long as possible. 'So it's a date then!', he said before he signed off. Haha.. An amicable friend indeed! However when the race started, i saw Ford in front of me and i tried to run easy to see if i could catch up to him. Soon it turned out that the gap between us was getting bigger and i was having no chance of catching him. I had no intention of speeding up so early in the race so i was content running at the back with Jeri.

At the start
Game on
I met Jeri at TMBT and we only got to speak very briefly then. This time we had plenty of time to chat since i was intent on conserving energy and 'leeching' on her at the same time. My biggest fear in this race was getting lost, so when i knew that i could not keep up with Ford, i was not going to pass out another chance of losing another local with superior knowledge of the trails. As we talked, it turned out that we both had one thing in common. We both studied in ACJC! I had to resist my urge to ask her which year she was there though. Not a nice thing to ask a woman of her age! :D

I was not bothered to find out what position i was in. I knew Ricky Lightfoot, Anders and Ford were definitely ahead of us, and maybe there were some other overseas runners ahead as well. We arrived at 10km mark at exactly 1 hour.

Soon ours became a party of four. We caught up with Sam (my eldest brother's ex-colleague from Barclays who finished joint 2nd place in TMBT 50km), and Matt from Australia joined us from behind. Four of us ran together from 10km to ~16km before three of us started pulling away from Jeri.

Matt from Australia
Ricky with his monster speed
I must say that right from the beginning, I was not feeling too good. For one, I ate too much during dinner. I thought i was going to need those energy, but little did i know that my body was not able to digest them in time for the race. Throughout the first half of the race, my stomach kinda felt odd and i kept having some weird 'pasta/pizza' taste coming up my throat. I had to resist my urge to vomit in a few occasions too.

To make the matter worse, at approximately 15km in the last aid station before we entered into the long stretch of Gangsa Track, I made a highly concentrated electrolyte drink without realising it (i usually just insert one electrolyte tablet into my water bottle but this time the top tablet had been reduced into powder and i must have put all the powder and accidentally inserted another broken piece as well). The next checkpoint was 10km away, and that meant running in the heat and humidity of the night for AN HOUR WITHOUT ANY WATER. At this point, the thought of DNF-ing certainly occurred to me a number of times.

I knew it was going to be a long day from then on. I was not enjoying the run at all. Running in the dark kinda felt like i was boxed into a confined space, with just a small area of brightness in front. Usually in other races, i gain a lot of strength and inspiration from the beautiful surrounding and i use it to power forward. But this time i could hardly see anything in the dark. The progress seemed slow, and though the pace felt like a 5 min/km pace, we were really only running at 6 min/km. The heat and humidity all combined to make it an extremely challenging race for me.

At that time, i thought to myself: It's either i quit now, and call my family and ask them to pick me up, or I persevere.

When we reached Mandai Orchid Garden loop, I saw Anders just completed the loop and was on his way to Lorong Asrama. My guess was he was probably 10-15 mins ahead of us and Ford would not be far away too.

When Matt, Sam and i reached Lorong Asrama, we were told that three runners have already passed. They must be the usual suspects: Ricky, Anders and Ford. After we refilled our bottle, we set off to tackle the hardest part of the 50km loop - Hill 265. Throughout the time, I was slightly ahead of both of them but never out of sight from them.

When i had completed the Mandai loop and reached checkpoint 1, to my surprise, someone called out to me. It was Ford! Apparently he fell during downhill and sprained his ankle. Now his ankle had swollen to the point that medic did not clear him to run. I could see the sheer look of disappointment written all over his face, and I felt really sad for him. His preparation leading to TNF had been flawless and everyone was anticipating him to be the first Singaporean to cross the line. It is such a pity that his race had to end this way.

From then on, I started pulling away from Sam and Matt. I was running alone for the first time, and would be so for the remaining part of the first 50km of the race until around 46km when i caught a glimpse of Anders in front of me. I ran up to him and we both made our way to the half way point together in joint 2nd place in exactly 5 hours.

When we reached MacRitchie, I heard some familiar voices shouting my name. My family and my gf were waiting for me there! Wow, finally something good! Suddenly i felt empowered and motivated to run again. I made a quick transition, and was on the trail once again. In my heart, i was really grateful for the support of my gf and family, and even though the day had been crappy so far, the thought having my family there was good enough to keep me going.


Half way mark with Anders
Rick was more than 1 hour ahead and i know there is virtually no hope to catching him. My goal then was just to maintain 2nd position and finish the race.

The second half was pretty unremarkable except for two things: My stomach played up and I had a sudden bout of diarrhoea at 70km mark (I shall not reveal where i released the bomb! :D :D :D), and i was consistently running 5-10 mins slower than 6 min/km pace for every 10km. I arrived at 60km at ~6:07, 65km at ~6:40, 75km at ~7:45, 85km at ~8:50 and 90km at ~9:25.

My stomach continued to be problematic and I was only able to swallow gels most of the time. I did manage to consume one bar in the entire 100km, but that was with much difficulty and i could only take small bits every few minutes.

I did not know how far was Anders behind me until i completed Lorong Asrama loop and the marshals told me I had a 30-min lead on the third runner.

In the final 10km, my body had taken such a beating for the past 9.5 hours that i felt i have hit the wall. I think i have way exceeded my fatigue point, and the only thing which kept me going was my family. I saw my family at 93km mark again and my eldest brother kept telling me to dig deep to finish the race.

At 93 km mark
The last 7km felt like the longest in my life. I had absolutely nothing felt in the tank. Running for a mere 5 minutes felt like endless and I could not help but walk every now and then. That was exactly how i felt last year in TNF in the final 10km. Physically and mentally i was done. Perhaps emotionally i still had a bit left coz my family was there.

Finally with much alternation between walking and running, i finished the race in 2nd place in 10:44:37.

Finish line

I saw Ford and Jean (his wife) at the finish line and Ford was really just so gracious to stay behind to cheer all the runners on despite having his race ruined by a sprained ankle. In my mind, I have no doubt that if he did not have the accident, he would have finished in 2nd place instead.

Ford and Jean. Lovely couple!
I have always wanted to make my family proud. I was so touched by every single one of them. Although this race would go down in my memory as the most torturous race I have done, it will always carry a tinge of sweetness in it because of them. :)

My family. I have a pretty big support crew heh? :D
Harn just completed his '50km'. 
Thank you, Love
My brother in law - Lin Hui and cute little Joel
Eli (my eldest brother's son) itching to run too!
Harn and his gf
John (my mentor in high school and college) and his two kids 
100km prize presentation
My love and i
Appa (left) and my eldest brother (who screamed the loudest for me!)
Xavier (my 2nd brother) and Zoe (his gf)
Harn (my 3rd brother) and his gf

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Taking a break


My running season for the year 2012 is officially over. What an exciting journey with lots of ups and downs. Through it all, i saw clearly how the Hand of God was with me every step of the way, even at times when i let my weaknesses get the better of me. He allowed me to go through injuries, to teach me humility and for me to rely on Him and Him alone. He also is kind enough to allow me to experience some success, and i know this comes not by my own effort, but solely by His grace alone.

Northface 100 Singapore, which was held last weekend, drained every ounce of energy from me. I have never ran a night race before, therefore adjusting to sleep deprivation (the race started at 11pm) and running on technical trail with just a small amount of light were a real challenge. On top of that, i had to deal with nutritional and hydration issues, heat and humidity, and stomach woes in the race. If not for my family who were there to support me, i would have quit the race much earlier in the race. I am glad i managed to finish the race, even if it meant some really slow time in the last 10km of the race. (i will post TNF 100 race report later on when i have time).

I have learned that, running in the dark, is very much like experiencing dark night of the soul in spiritual sense. Everything seemed bleak, and i kinda felt boxed into a confined space, making very slow and cautious progress along the way. With the emotional stress that i was experiencing, i could hardly pray. All the while, my usual long-winded prayer was reduced down to a simple: 'God, help me...'. I did not have any mental space left to think about the situation i was in, or recite bible verses, or formulate a nice-sounding prayer. I only had energy to place one foot on top the other, while simultaneously pray: 'God, help me...'.

Now as i look back, even though i did not experience a miraculous restoration of energy, i did manage to complete the race. It helped me realise that sometimes His grace manifests in subtle ways, ways in which we did not expect. We expect fires coming from heaven, or a earth-shaking experience, or in a whirl-wind, but God was not in any of these. He was in the still small voice, in gentle whispers, and it's easy to not hear it sometimes. (1 King 19:11-13).

Now that my running season is over, there are things which i want to focus on for the rest of the year. First and foremost, it's my wedding preparation. My gf and fiance has been very gracious for me to spend most of my time training and racing, so now I definitely want to put my heart and soul into making the wedding a special and memorable one.

Secondly, i want to focus on publishing a research paper. Attending the General Surgeon Scientific meeting in Tasmania in September this year opened my eyes to a huge variety of surgical concepts and ideas. I have just been introduced to a world of endless learning and possibilities. Now my registrar and i have a goal to work toward to complete the paper by the end of this year.

I will still be running often, just not in the same intensity that i was doing in the past 4-6 months. Now that there is no more agenda in my training, i hope to experience God in a brand new ways.

I have made some good friends through running this year, like Ford, Jeri, Anders, Allan Lee, Fish Chia, FRIM runners, Thomas, Fred, and many others i have come to know through facebook. All of them are amazing characters that i admire and love to be with. Keep your passion burning ever brighter!

Hope to meet some of you in the trails some day! :D


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Week summary (1 - 7 Oct) - Final week of training before TNF 100 Singapore


Monday

Am - 22.5km (Trail) 2:23

Pm - 27.5km (Trail) 2:47

Tuesday

Am - 13km (Road) 1:00

Pm - 8km (Road) 0:42

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Am - 13km (Road) 0:56

Pm - 18km (Road) 1:33

Friday

Am - 11.5km (Trail covering Mt Tibrogargan) 1:35

Saturday

Pm - 10km (Road) 0:46

Sunday

Am - 18 km. (Road) 1:32

Pm - 18.5km (Trail running in FRIM) 1:55

Total distance: 160km
Total time: 15 hrs 9 mins
Average speed: 5.68 min per km


This is by far the longest i have ran in a week in my life. I have finally hit 100 miles in a week. With TNF 100 being a week away, i thought it's really important that i cover as much distance (rather than elevation) as possible as i am weak in running in relatively flatter terrain.

Some of you may think it's crazy to run so much a week before a major race. I have two reasons for that. 1) I think tapering is overrated. Dropping running volume by a huge margin in the days leading up to a race would only leave my legs rusty and sluggish. 2) I know my body and its ability to recover in a short frame of time. During the week of TMBT, i did 22km on Monday and 28km on Tuesday just to test out my legs because i had been largely inactive (due to injuries) the weeks before. Even then, i arrived fresh in the race.

I have arrived in Singapore together with my gf. We are staying at my brother's place in Mt Sinai. Will be meeting up with some friends and my pastor over the next couple of days to catch up. It's been so long since i last met them so i am very excited!

As for my thoughts for TNF, i won't hide the fact that i am feeling a little anxious about the race. Fear of running in the dark, fear of stumbling, fear of losing my way, fear of bonking etc. As i am still very new to ultra-running, i have lots and lots to learn still. But i am very sure that the joy of running, the camaraderie and the laughter amongst the runners will fill the trail in the night of the race and banish all doubts and uncertainty.

Dear Lord, i thank You again and again for Your love and mercy. I am so undeserving of all that You have done in my life. I pray that as i run, i could feel Your pleasure and see You smile. May You be glorified in all that i do. :)

Running with Allan Lee and my brother in FRIM on Sunday.


Monday, October 1, 2012

Week summary (24 - 30 Sept)


Monday

Rest

Tuesday

Am - 12.8km (Road). 1:03

Pm - 7.8km (Road). 0:37

Wednesday

Am - 12.9km (Trail) 1:13

Pm - 7.8km (Road) 0:38

Thursday

Pm - 4km time trial. 14m35s

Friday

Am - 12.9km (Trail) 1:14

Pm - 13.7km (Road) 1:12

Saturday

Am - 29.5km (Trail) 3:08

Sunday

Am - 10.1km time trial (Trail) 42m30s

Pm - 19.3km (Trail) 1:57

Total distance: 130.8km
Total time: 11hr59mins
Average speed: 5.50 min/km

It's been a slow return to running for me. It seems like my feet are still quite sluggish from TMBT. It just does not have the bounce that it used to have. This is after taking almost an entire week off after TMBT. I feel that TMBT has taken so much from my body and so completely depleted my muscle glycogen store that i am left with nothing to play with.

So the whole week generally feels quite slow for me. My mind still has not let go of the fatigue that i experienced in TMBT. Each run feels like a really long run, and i just don't have the energy and motivation to run longer. Hence all the split shorter distances that i have been doing throughout the week. I guess I have to accept that this is a normal feeling post-massive exertion.

Thankfully though, things are gradually picking up for me. I hope the fatigue and sluggishness are just momentary thing.

Northface 100 Singapore is less than two weeks away! This is a much flatter race as compared to TMBT. I kinda feel that a race like TMBT is more suitable for me as i am strong in the climbs and downhills. I am admittedly weak in running flat and i am seriously lacking in speed too. For TNF 100, the entire course is runnable so it's going to be really challenging to have to run the entire 100km, unlike TMBT where you can switch between hiking and running according to the terrain and course elevation. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to meeting some good runners and making new friends. I hope we can all enjoy the beautiful trails Singapore has to offer too.

Dear Lord, help me to fix my eyes on You. :)

10.1km time trial with Caboolture Road Runners. I had to rush off to church after this!