2 weeks before TMBT

Finally the race of the year is just around the corner. TMBT is without a doubt the most challenging race in my calendar and one that I have been most looking forward to this year.

In the past 2-3 months, I have trained quite consistently, gradually building my weekly mileage to around 120-150km/week, focusing on a lot of elevation, which includes uphill and downhill running, medium long run, back-to-back long run. I also took a lot of time to test my gear and nutrition, and modifying my gear to make it ultra-friendly. Something amazing which i have to say is I have been largely injury-free this year. I am not sure whether it's wiser training, or better muscular and skeletal adaptation from last year's training, or new pair of shoes, I have been able to train without any interruption due to injury. This year, I have decided to try on new pair of Hoka One One, Stinson Evo Tarmac and Trail. Mostly out of desperation, I approached Hoka initially with some kind of skepticism,  but since everything I have read it from the internet is great, I thought i would give it a try. It turned out to be a great decision! Not my favourite type of shoes (the extra cushioning just dulls my feet proprioception of the ground), but surely one which works very well and reduces muscular strain after a long run, thereby preventing overuse injuries. Having said that, I still make sure I run in my minimalist Asics Piranha 4 in my shorter run every now and then to maintain my running form and strengthen my lower leg muscles.

I have participated in a few shorter races to test my endurance and speed. On 28 July, I ran the Flinders Tour 50km, a race which i finished 6th in 4:32 last year. I went into the race with an aim to finish top 3 and improve on my time. At the start line, I bumped into Greg and his very pregnant wife - Sarah. (Greg overtook me in the last 1 km of Mt Mee Marathon and has a marathon best of 2:40) This is going to be a fast race i thought.  When the gun went off, we both jumped into the lead. Shortly after the start, we were joined by Patrick (last year's defending champion with a time of 4:06). This made the lead pack a group of 3, and we set the pace together. It was fun running with them, and the first half of the race was filled with frequent chatter and laughter as we trod along the bush. Just before the half way point, I broke away from the group and made my way up to Mt Beerburrum. In the second half, I took two wrong turns, first one on my own (which resulted in both Patrick and Greg running ahead of me), and the second one with Patrick when we both pulled away from Greg. I probably lost in total around 8-10 mins, and i ran an additional 2km as compared to the eventual winner Greg. With that, no matter how hard i tried, i could not catch up with Greg who had surged ahead when Patrick and I lost our way. Finally I finished in 2nd place in 3:58, Greg in 1st place in 3:51 and Patrick in 3rd place in 4:04. I was satisfied with the result - a sub-4 50km (The actual distance in my watch is 51km), a big improvement from last year's time.

Greg (left), Patrick (middle) and I

On 22 August, I participated in another ultra-running research in University of Sunshine Coast conducted by Hugo - a French exercise physiologist who is currently in his final project for his PhD in Australia. It consists of two components. First - a VO2 max measurement. I have never done a VO2 max before, so i was excited to try out to find out my number. There was some last minute mess-up when my nose piece dropped out. My final measurement is 75, and Hugo said i could go a bit higher like ~78. The second was a 6hr treadmill run, which includes 4 x 6 mins of 10% of incline at 10km/hr. This added some nice variety to the otherwise monotonous flat running on a treadmill. I ran a total distance of 72.84km, which is an improvement from my previous 6hr Caboolture Historical Village run (69.56km). I think the main difference this time (other than the fact that my legs are stronger) is I have started out in a more conservative pace, which allowed me to maintain throughout the 6hr.

Hugo attaching the electrodes in my quads and calf

VO2 max

Hugo explaining to the students what the 6hr treadmill is all about

Collecting data from the quads, calf and brain

A very modern exercise lab

Juggling between family time, working, spending time with God and training are indeed no easy task. I think i have been stretched so much in the last few months, and it feels like I have always been skirting around the edge of the cliff. I am glad God has pulled me through this period, giving me the motivation and strength to wake up each day for the seemingly mundane task of training and working, granting me the wisdom to decide when to push and when to rest, and allowing the body and the mind to hold up in this intense period of training. This has further confirmed the decision that I have made in my heart that I don't want to run competitively for long term. The toll and sacrifice it has on the mind and body is simply too great. It's always been clear to me that running is a stepping stone to something greater in the mission field in the future. There is a season in life for everything. As for now, I have a few more goals in running i would like to achieve before I focus my time and energy on something else.