Friday 20-Jul:
Typical Friday conversation
at work around the pantry area...
Me: "So anything planned
for the weekend?"
The replies from colleagues
range from "catching up with friends; going to the movies; getting
smashed on Friday/Saturday night..." to "just a quiet one".
"What about you
Gaz?"
Me: "Not much, spending
time with Angelena on Saturday and then will be doing a 52km race on
Sunday at You Yangs ("YY")..."
Stunted faces, followed by
"Fifty what? Are you kidding me? Are you crazy/nuts/out of your mind?
Good luck I guess..."
And yes, given that it was a
52km race, this race report will be longer than usual...
Sunday, 22-Jul:
Finally, a race closer to
home... I only need 35mins of drive time compared to the last 2 races.
Alarm went off at 5am and I
go about doing my pre-race routine... Cup of coffee, 2 slices of toast
with peanut butter... Then took a mandatory dump to lighten the weight
before gearing up...
Had been carb loading a bit
the last few days and I actually gained 1.5kg, which I will lose during
the race (I hope)...
My hydration pack can hold
1.5l. From past race experience, with the well placed Aid Stations
("AS"), I hardly consume the whole lot and carried the extra
weight home. This time, I only fill it up with 750ml of Gatorade. If I run
out of water before an AS, I just have to beg for water from other
runners... See, I do have a backup plan...
Will be using GU instead of
Endura gels... Will also be trying Winners energy bar instead of
Powerbars... Hopefully my stomach can handle the change...
 |
| My food for the race... |
Also have been training in
MT110 since its arrival last month... Hopefully I have clock enough
mileage (58km up to this race) to break it in... Yes, I do track the
mileage of my shoes...
Down a cup of water mixed
with 1tbs of Chia seeds, kissed goodbye to my ladies and headed off at
6am...
Reached YY around 6:40am...
Plenty of time for me to register and hit the toilet one last time... It
was still dark and cold... decided to put on my sleeve warmers and
gloves... I can always take them off after...
Caught some familiar faces at
the start line and started chatting with one of them, Neil... He is in his
60s and he ran ultra and MTB regularly... Oh, he kicked my butt in race 1
(30km), finishing at least 30mins ahead of me... No revenge for me at race
2 as he did the 50km while I stick to 30km... This time round both of us
are doing
the 52km...
 |
| Trails+ You Yangs course map |
Running trails should
be straight forward right? Well, not quite... YY is a
bit different because we are running in a smaller course... There are
certain parts of the course that we be running both inbound and outbound... And
if all goes well, we should pass the main AS, which is also the Start/Finish
area, at 15km, 30km and lastly at 52km... Hence a map
will definitely be handy... Sounds complicated? Maybe... I will
be referencing places on the map quite a bit, so if you can follow the map, it
will make more sense to you...
 |
| 2 more minutes to start... |
First 15km
After a quick briefing from Brett (Race
Director), we all formed up at the Start line and wait for the countdown...
Popped a gel and wiggle my way to the start... The race was delayed by 15mins,
which is good for us as more light began to come through... 7:30am, and we are off!!! Neil and me continued chatting until the
first AS at around 2.5km... He decided to take a drink while I continue
and started the descend on Saddleback Track... |
| Downhill from Saddleback Track... Sun still rising... |
Went pass a few runners, one
of which is Dave: "Let gravity do the work huh!"... Oh yes, I was
actually doing quite good pace... maybe too fast for my liking but what the
heck, will worry about that later... Dave caught up to me when we were on the
flat... We chatted and shared some stories... Felt really good and
didn't realised that I was doing 6mins pace... Too fast for my liking... But
with good company, I will worry about the pace later...
Have set my Garmin 610 on
50mins alert... This is to remind me to take some food/gel to maintain my
energy before they get completely depleted... Popped a gel, removed my
gloves and arm warmers around 8.5km and make the climb back up to the
Turntable... Dave dropped his pace at the climb while I power on...
 |
| Will be seeing these steps a few times during the race... |
Not long after, Dave overtook
me... This stretch was slow and as there are a lot of boulders and rocks to go
over... Then he overtook... Although this stretch was only about 2km, it took
me approximately 30mins...
Shortly after, arrived at
Rockwell Junction AS.. Time check, 1hr 24mins... had a quick drink and
continued... 2km of downhill and another 1km of uphill later, arrived back at
Turntable AS... first 15km completed... decided to have an energy bar instead
of a gel... first time trying the Winners bar... it was surprisingly good and I
love it!!! Will be stocking it up for next race...
15km to 30km
This time round, we head towards East Walk in
a counter-clockwise direction and looped back to Turntable AS around West Walk
... This round trip is about 4km and it took me about 40mins... I overtook Dave
while he was trying to shake off his cramp...
 |
| View from East/West Track? |
 |
| View from East/West Track? |
 |
| View from East/West Track? |
 |
| View from East/West Track? |
Arrived back to Turntable at
19km and this time round, headed east towards Big Rock... I then hit the single
trails among the trees from 22km... The next AS is Kurrajong and it should
be at the 24km mark... Though I am sure I am heading towards the right direction,
not seeing any runners in front or behind me start to make me worry...
especially when my 610 is showing 25km... I decided to wave down a MTBiker and
ask for confirmation of directions... Big load off my shoulders when he
confirmed that I was on the right track... Phew...
Thanks goodness not long
after, I arrived at the AS... To my surprise, Dave who was behind me is already
there!!! WTF? He was wearing the Garmin 910XT and we compared
distance... I had done an additional 500m on my way here... Now that explains
why he was there before me... Not ideal, but not the end of the world...
The volunteer at the AS mentioned that there are other
runners that took wrong route and have to cover more than 1km... I guess I
should be thanking my lucky stars...
Dave headed off while I pack
my mouth with fruit cake... Saw Coke (as in the drink) on the table and decided
to not over indulge myself this early... Hopefully there will still be some
left when I come pass later... Popped another gel and press on...
The next few kms are of gradual
incline... not steep enough to walk, and yet not flat enough to run flat out...
hate it... very hard to concentrate my stride with the constant "should I
run or should I walk" playing in my mind...
YY is a very popular hangout
among MTB enthusiasts... We have been briefed to give way to MTBikers
along the course, which I have been doing... Then came 2 ladies in their
MTBs climbing up the trails... I can hear them chatting from about 10m behind
me... Thought to myself, good time for me to rest a bit and let them pass...
Jumped to the side and stretched... Said hi and let them pass me... I then
followed behind them... With the way they are paddling, I am sure
that they are using the lowest gear available... For some reason or
another, they started to slow down and I thought to myself, maybe I can
overtake them... And I did!!! Yeh!!! Overtaking MTB on a MTB trail... Now that
was the highlight of my race...
While running the interesting
zig-zag trail, looking up, I can see Dave heading towards the left, and then to
the right... we were quite close but because of the zig-zag, I was actually
about 200m behind him... Not long after, a petite lady passed me... She looked
strong... Her stride was powerful and quick for her size... I later learned
that she had turned up 1hour late and there she was, not only has she caught
up, but she has also overtook us... Oh well, I just need to concentrate on my
own race...
Passed the Rockwell AS at
28km... 2km more and I'll be back to Turntable AS... My left
ITB suddenly became very tight and I think that caused some pain on my
left hip... I thought to myself "no freaking way, don't tell me it is
Great Ocean Road all over again!!!"... At the back of my mind, I knew
I had better prepared this year than last year, fingers crossed that this
strain will go away with some stretches and not cause me to DNF...
30km to Finish
If you have been following the map, you now
have to navigate with the one on the right... The left map is
only up to 30km... |
| Cockatoos.. I swear they were laughing at me... |
Next 4km was a clockwise loop
from West Walk to East Walk... We then head towards the Saddleback Track... At
this time, I was joined by another 3 runners... Around the 36km mark, we saw a
few runners including Dave 50m ahead... They stopped for a while at the cross
junction and decide to go straight...
When we reached the junction, we can see
why... The sign was not as clear as the others... We pulled out our maps and
compared, wondered, discussed, guessed which way to go... As I saw Dave heading
straight, I decided to head straight... But another runner decided to hold his
ground and said we should head up the hill... We spent at least 3mins debating which way to go... Now, it is
funny how the human mind works... Going straight is downhill while going left
is uphill... My mind somehow wants me to take the easy way, which is
downhill...
Popped a gel and headed
straight... ran for less than 100m... saw Dave and another runner heading back
towards us... He was pretty sure that they had gone the wrong way and said the
right way is left, which is up the hill... Oh well, if I went off course, at
least I have a few runners to accompany me... And up the hill we went...
So happy to see Rockwell AS
after the climb... phew... the additional 4mins spent figuring which way to go
was well worth it...
We headed in the opposite
direction this time down the zig-zag... Wanted to run faster, but my left leg
has other idea... For the next 10km, I was constantly stopping for
stretches... I popped another gel and had my energy bar... Where I
could, I ran, if not at least power walk... This continued all the way until
the Kurrajong AS (46.5km)...
 |
| Picture courtesy of Dandyrunner.com |
Saw the guy from
DandyRunner.com... Was in pain and not able to lift my facial muscles for a
smile... Me: "So glad to see you mate... Does it mean I am near the
finish?" DandyRunner: "You are almost there mate... Keep it
up..."
 |
| Big Rock... |
Made the climb to Big Rock...
By this time, the weather is beautiful and that explains why there was so many
families picnicking around this area... Not far now... 2km
more of climb and I am home...
Race Summary
Course: Compared
to the last 2 Trailsplus races, YY is a "walk in the park" for
the more experienced participants... Simply because the course is
"flatter"... According to my 610, the maximum elevation gain/loss was
about 230m... Not as high as Mt Macedon or Maroondah Dam... While running
along the MTB trails, although we have to give way to the bikes, I
actually enjoyed running along the MTB trails...
Although we do carry a map,
we rely heavily on the course markings... The markings are good 90% of the
time... The rest of the 10% is reliant on your instinct, an or other
runners' experience... That is probably why my 610 showed me that I did
53km instead if 52km...
YY is a beautiful place and I
will definitely head up there more often since it is so close to home...
Weather: Prefect!!!
Can't ask for more... A little chilly (10 degrees) at the start, which is
expected at 7:30am in the morning... No wind and lots of shades from the
trees...
Aid Stations: As
always, food galore at the main AS... Fruit cakes, chips, jelly beans,
GUs, electrolyte, cola, water... Friendly volunteers... What more can you
ask for...
My final thoughts...
- Stoked that I completed my
first ultra trail!!! Yeh!!! Even happier when I managed to finish before
my 610 battery (estimated to last 7-8hours on GPS mode) die off... Saved me messing
around with my portable charger... Yeh!!! Yeh!!!
- MT110 definitely provide
more protection than MT10 and I am glad that it works well for me...
 |
| Finisher's medal |
Next race, 50km around the
Tan in 2 weeks time... Yup, it is gonna drive me bananas as you all know
how much I "love" to do loops... Until then, more foam rolling
and stretches...
