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Roy : MR25 UltraMarathon Singapore Race Report
The build up to the last race of 2012 has been eventful to say the least. It was early August when my running career was put to a stop by illness that threatens to bedridden me for life. For two months, it was rehabilitation mode and trying to get off the bed.
Fast forward the story a bit, while
trying to make a comeback, the 2nd main setback occurred - I injured
my ankle during one of my rehab runs, and that stop me from running for 2
months.
However, being a running maniac, a race
opens, is a race to consider….. that keeps playing in my mind. Having discussed
the race with Eugene, we got Ben Swee to help with the MR25 Ultramarathon
registration and bib collection.
Moving on to race day, I have just
started training about 3 weeks prior with still slight discomfort on the ankle,
although my rehabilitation has been progressing smoothly overall. The mindset
was programmed to take this race as a comeback race without any expectation and
just to gauge my level since the catastrophic incident in August. So without
any expectation I was ready to hit the trail even if it meant just completing a
loop. MR25 is a race which requires minimum of 5 loops (officially 10.2KM)
within 12 hrs for the finisher medal and vest.
At 6AM, together with runners from TPRC
group, we took cab from our hideout along Boon Keng to the starting point. It
has been drizzling all night and there is no sign of the rain stopping. At the
starting point, we navigate ourselves through the crowds and throw our luggage
into the baggage deposit points. I have decided to wear Asics Fuji Racer with
Injinji sock for this race to protect my ankle and to skip all the compression
which I have not put on since August. Obviously, Eugene and I were in sync with
our 2ndskin’s “Ultra Beyond Forty Two” tshirt.
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Eugene and Roy all pumps up for the final race of 2012
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The start of the race was uneventful and
I did not even hear the starting siren. A few hundred meters in, Eugene
appeared and we started running like a team. As there are plenty of runners
lining up along the route, we are not considering overtaking any runners in the
first lap. With Eugene just behind me, we run at a comfortable pace. The
drizzle has stop at this point but the trail is still wet and certain part was
muddy while other parts are rocky.
Obviously the important thing for me was to ensure I maintain the right
foot work and not got into another sprain so I was very focus on my every step,
especially going down the more technical segment of the trail.
As this was a race that I have set no
expectation and just go with the flow, I did not even plan for my nutrition
needs apart from just bringing Hammer Perpetuem Solids and Endurolytes. I did
not even remember about nutrition until the end of 2nd lap. I was
relying a lot on Pocari Sweat and water provided by the organizer.
Completing the first lap with Eugene in
about 1:23 (forget to press my watch earlier), I went to relief myself and lost
him. Decided to move on as I thought he has sped off. Moving slightly faster
than the first lap, I was trying to hunt down Eugene. This race is one of the
most enjoyable races you can find with its friendly support and opportunity to
see fellow runners coming down the other side. A lot of greeting and high fives
make any pains you may feel go away, and that makes the 2nd lap
feels like nothing. Since I was not sure where Eugene was, I ran up with
Susanah who was training for Vibram HK100, and decided to go with her pace. After
the u-turn, I finally have to ask her to move on herself as her pace is just
too FAST.
Completing the 2nd lap on my
own in 1:21, I re-accessed my condition; especially my ankle to make sure it is
all still intact. Surprisingly, no major concern was detected and clearing up the
debris in my shoe off, and finally found Eugene (who started the 2nd
lap after me), we started off for our 3rd lap.
The goal at this time was to try to
complete lap 3 within 4:30 with the delicious fried rice as an incentive for
our poor body. I took a tablet of perpetuem Solids as we hit down lap 3 to give
me some boost for the uphill section of the trail. I have just begun to
remember again that I needed to consider my nutrition at this point and started
to plan what to take for the rest of the race. The plan is simple, alternate
between the Solids and the Endurolytes. Solids along the route as I am use to
chewing these giant tablets while running and Endurolytes will be pop-in while
I am at the water stations. With nutrition factor in, 3rd lap was
completed in 1:41, well within 4:30 that we have targeted earlier.
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| 2ndskin team completing another lap in MR25 |
Since it was still a bit early for lunch
at 11:30AM, I grabbed a banana to fill my stomach and started the 4th
lap, decided to postpone lunch for another lap. Our plan for this lap is
basically to walk the climbs and jog down the hills as there is slight muscle
sore on our legs. We reckoned it should take not longer than 2 hrs with this
strategy. We noticed there are fewer runners on the trail now, probably most
runners would have stopped for their rest and lunch.
Since MacRitchie Reservoir and its
surrounding trails are public areas, this does not meant we are alone as we kept
bumping into park visitors along the trail. From leisure sightseers to hikers
to runners/from children to adults, they make our run interesting as once in
awhile there will be sprinters overtaking us, giving us the temptation to
follow suits while overtaking the leisurely pace of the sightseers/hikers gave
us the boost of confidence that we are still doing good.
Back to the race, with our walk and run
strategy, we got back to the starting points 2 hrs on the dot for this lap.
This time around, we hang around the starting point for about 30 minutes,
grabbing the delicious fried rice, chatting and joking with the friendly
organizers. I retrieved my muscle spray and started spraying all over my legs.
It proved to be right as for the rest of my runs, there is no more ankle pain.
Having gone 4 laps, I have indeed
performed beyond my expectation as I have been worried my ankle would not bring
me so far. With my stomached fed and my legs fresh from the rest, we started
the fifth round with the same strategy in mind. Eugene mentioned he wanted to
do 6 laps while I told him I just wanted to complete this lap and call it a day
to save my ankle from further abuse (yeah right, runner word about stopping is
never true). With Eugene feeling strain on his calves and me thinking this is
the last lap, we go at a slower pace compare to the previous lap. As we were
casually chatting on the way, Eugene mentioned that he did 5 laps in 9 hrs 2
years ago and it looks we are well within the timing to break his previous
timing. I even suggested to Eugene that we should be able to complete 5 laps in
8:30 hrs which Eugene laughed it off. But deep inside, I was thinking that I
should give it a shot to do it in sub 8.5. Slowly without realizing, I started
increasing my pace and after awhile I realized that I was running alone again. Without
the pains on my ankle and muscles, it was like running anew again. Since I have
started it, I was going for it all the way…… As I race against the time to get
out of the trail, I saw Lai Ling from TPRC walking towards her finishing. I showed
off my mathematics skill by telling her how we can still achieve sub 8.5 and got
her to run with me. By the time we were out of the trail, I threw her another
idea to do another loop with me since there should be another 3.5 hours to go.
I was to ask her at the finishing line and looking at how she can still run at
that point of time, I was sure she is going to say yes. As we sped across the
reservoir bank overtaking many others, it finally dawns that we are going to
finish with much room to spare. And obviously, I get the answer that was
expected from any runner that is on a high, let’s go and finish off the 6 laps.
Without any stop, grabbed few sips of
water and pocari sweat off we go again. This time, I told her to lead and run
only on the descent. But to my surprise, she runs whether it is up or down. I
was starting to regret pulling her to run with me as I was having difficulty
following her pace, even her walking pace is fast! I was glad eventually when
she realized that she is too fast for me and started to follow my pace instead.
It drizzled again on this final lap but that will not slow us down in anyway.
Little by little, we work our way through the route and as we made our final
u-turn, we know even if we walk all the way, we would still complete it. As we
came close to the finishing line with about 1.5KM to go, I spewed out another
challenge, to get it wrap up before 10:30. With the last hill done, we started to
gain momentum and goes for a glorious finish. We completed the last lap in 1:43
and with about 1 hrs 35 minutes left on the clock, well, I am not going to risk
another lap, at least not when I have not prepared well enough for this race.
This race definitely gave me a confident boosts
that I can run ultra again with proper preparation. There are things that I
need to tweak on to work on getting myself back to normal again:
- Too long without a race, I forget how to plan for my hydration needs. Luckily this was a well supported race and pocari sweat more than make up for it.
- There is still rehabilitation works to do to improve on my coordination and muscle conditioning, especially upper body that I have been neglecting to focus on recovering my foot work.
- And not forgetting the advice given by many of my running friends – “Eat your medicine”.
This is a race that is definitely in my
yearly to do list and is highly recommended to anyone that wants to venture
into ultra trail. Who knows, we will pace each other in the next edition of
MR25.
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