TNF100 - Singapore

What a race! Ricky Lightfoot from Team Salomon smashed the course by completing in 8:38:07. Well ahead of runner up Jimmy Tee, who finished in 10:44:50. According to the race results, the completion rate was 80% and lucky for me, I was among those who had completed the race.

In comparison to the winner, I took almost twice as long (well, that's why he is an elite and I’m not) with a finishing time of 15:50:33. This is 4hrs ahead of the race cut-off and 2hrs ahead of my target. I wouldn't have been able to achieve this without Collin (my not so little brother). He stuck by my side all the way, pushing me with motivation speeches and constantly shoving drinks and food down my throat to ensure that I keep up with the required nutrition... I cannot ask for a better race partner... Thank you my brother...

http://www.digitalracesolutions.com.sg/results/northface100_2012/100km%20RACETIME%20results.htm

Right, here are my highs and lows (quite a few of them) from my race... And yes, given that it was a 100km race, you bet this is gonna be long…

Friday 12-Oct. Race day...

Angelena, Lena and I arrived the night before and only settled to sleep well past midnight... The 3 of us woke up pretty early in the morning. I think our bodies were still in Melbourne time zone, which is 3 hours ahead of Singapore... Good thing the race start time is 11pm... Hope to catch a nap in the afternoon...

During the unpacking of my luggage, I realised that I had forgotten the water bladder for my hydration bag. This was despite me checking my gears twice before I sealed my luggage... Yeh, I know, what an idiot right... Lucky for me, Collin has some spare gears and I have decided to use his stuff for the race...

Collin and I went over to Superman's (aka Koon Wei) place to get our gels and stuff for the race... We were joined by Archer shortly after... Few race strategy discussions later, Collin and I left and headed off to have lunch, a bit of necessity shopping and hair cut (a few grams lighter over 100km can make a lot of difference... errr... maybe...)

A 2hour nap, dinner and shower later, we geared up and headed off to the race start, MacRitchie Reservoir Park...

Superman, me, Collin and Archer

Arrived around 10pm... Met up with Superman and Archer... Headed towards the 100km participants’ tent (also functioned as a drop bag station as the course is 2 x 50km loop) to weigh our gears and drop off our supplies for second half.

Being locals, Superman, Archer and Collin were busy saying hi and hellos to every other person before the race... It was really nice to see the warm and friendly atmosphere among the participants...

The gun went off at 11pm and we were off!!! Few minutes later and then there were 3… Being a faster runner, Superman took off as expected and left the 3 of us behind… We started at a comfortable pace and I actually felt alright… Had a quick pit stop at the Ranger Station (6km) and drank up… I could really feel the familiar SG humidity welcoming me back with open arms…

Over the next 20km, I felt really short of breath and was constantly thirsty… Kept telling Collin and Archer that I need an oxygen tank… I also couldn’t stop myself from gulping more than what I should be drinking from the Check Points (CPs)… Was taking 4-5 cups of water and 100plus at each CP and paid the price for it… Stitches came on every freaking time after that and I had to walk it off before being able to continue running…

We reached Lorong Asrama CP at 24km… We were to do a 9km loop in this area and back to the CP. This area brought back lots of “fond” memories from my National Service days as this used to be my “playground”… Never in a million years would I have thought of going back here for a race of this kind… Glad to be out of Lorong Asrama in 1hr and headed back to the start…

And then there were 2, Archer decided to run his own race and left us to go ahead… At about 35km along the Gangsa Track, we saw a light coming our way… Thought to ourselves, no freaking way any runners will be on to 70km plus… How wrong were we, it was indeed race leader, Ricky Lightfoot passing us by… Un-freaking-believable!!! This man is a machine!!!

Our target is to at least complete half the race before sunrise. I knew I would struggle as soon as the sun comes out… The strategy was to power walk all uphills and run flats and downhills… We were actually pushing a bit quicker on our pace in order to meet this goal… Archer: “What happened to taking it easy for the first 50km?” Sorry Archer, we were comfortable with the pace and just kept going… And then there were two… We lost Archer around the 35km mark…

The sky was still dark and before we know it, Collin and I reached the half way point under 7hrs. This is a full hour ahead of our target!!! Yeh!!! We just hope that the extra push in pace do not come back and bite us in the next half…

Archer very comfy at the back...

It was great to see Jun at the tent, who was the support crew/wife for Superman… Jun had also prepared ice cold coffee, coke, pies and apple cider vinegar for us… Thanks heaps Jun (and Superman)!!! A little boost goes a long long way… The aunties and uncle in the tent was super friendly and helpful… They kept pushing water and food to us. Auntie: “come, eat, eat… come, drink, drink…” Shortly after, Archer came in… He was still complaining about us pushing the pace…

We were ready to rock and roll within 15mins when suddenly Collin needed to hit the loo… He reckoned that it was the chestnuts (as recommended by Superman as an alternate race fuel) that he took… Hmmm… I think Superman plotted this “chestnut trap” so that he would not get overtaken by Collin :P It was actually good that I can have the extra rest… I think I needed it… Took out my shoes to clear the small sand/rocks and realised that my one of the toes on my left foot was turning black… Not a good sign with 50km to go… 

All in all, we stopped for about 30mins to regroup and get ready for the next 50km… We urged Archer to continue with us but he needed more rest and have no interest in our supposedly crazy pace… Bid goodbye to Archer, Jun, the aunties and uncle and got back on the road…

The second 50km was a bit of blur for me, literally… The sun slowly came up not long after and somehow my body/mind was telling me that it was time to close my eyes and sleep… The heat was getting to me… I was fighting hard to keep my eyes open and legs moving…

At the Dairy Farm CP (65km), we headed to the toilet to freshen up… The CP was quite crowded as we have now been joined by the 50km event runners that started at 6:45am… It became very apparent that I was suffering from fatigue and possibly dehydration when I saw the flush button moving in the toilet when I was going about my business… I was losing it… dunked my head under the running water to cool off and regroup… Told Collin about it and he immediately pulled out an electrolyte tablet for me… Took half and save the other half for later… Also took some bananas, GU gels and chomps from the CP and continued on…

I was not looking forward to Lorong Asrama… The tracks are wide and out in the open sun… Really struggled with the heat… Blisters caused by the tiny rocks under my feet also didn’t help… This time round it took us 1 and a half hour as our pace was slower and we took a bit longer at the CP to regroup…

After we left the CP, dark clouds began to form and we can feel a gentle breeze… A lot of you may have experienced the so call second wind… And that was what we got… Not sure if it was because of the banana we took, the changing weather, or the sheer thought that the toughest part was over and we were on home stretch… Maybe all of the above…

Shortly after the Zhenghua CP, my left calf called it quits… It felt as if I have pulled it and every time I want to run it out, it hurts… I was devastated, so much for having second wind… We were only 12km to the Finish… I was not happy, cursing and swearing in all the languages I have ever known… Told Collin to go on without me, but he graciously declined and said: “we will finish this race together”. These words provided me with a new surge of energy and got me to focus on the positive… If I cannot run, I will walk to the finish…

We took 2 hours to finish this last stretch and crossed the finishing line with a time of 15:50:33… Couldn’t believe it, I had completed my first 100km race…

Race Summary

Weather – Hot and humid and no rain… I cannot remember when I last perspired that much… Managing the heat was a challenge to me… I would have lost it to the elements if it was not for Collin’s constant drink and eat reminders…

Course – Wide variety of terrains and tracks from loose rocks to overgrown tree roots and lots of rolling hills…  

Check Points (Aid Stations) – One word, GREAT. Ample supply of water and 100plus at all CPs and GU gels, chomps and bananas on selected ones…  Volunteers were very friendly and helpful… Thanks guys!!!

Lessons learnt

·         Check your gears 3 times as twice is not enough (as proven by me)

·         Listen to the “old birds” (Archer and Collin) and lean from their past 100km race experiences

·         Holding form is important regardless of going uphill or downhill, need to strengthen core to improve

·         Get to know our own body more so that we can manage the appropriate hydration and nutrition requirements

·         Consumed food in the form of gels, chomps, energy bars, bananas, bak kua etc at least every 45mins… Also had anti fatigue pills between 1 to 2 hours.

·         Hydration plan went out of the window as soon as the race started. Had either drank too much, or not enough. Need to work on fuels and drinks discipline.

·         2 black toe nails on the right and 1 on the left. Need to wear shoes and socks appropriately to prevent this

There you go, my first 100km… Check out http://www.facebook.com/tnf100sing for more photos, news, and updates…