"The answers to the big questions in running are the same as the answers to the big questions in life. Just do the best you can with what you've got" - Dr George Sheehan
This race holds a very special place
in my heart. This was where I completed my first ultra last year. I was using
this year’s race as training for the big one coming up later this month. I also
tested out my fuel strategy, poles and Salomon Advance Skin S-Lab 12 “Mark II”
at this year’s race. Here’s look at the “improvement” I made to the pack. The
idea is to be able to carry my poles in front for easy access.
Sewn on velcro on the water bottle pouches
Poles fit nicely with minimal bounce
This year, I set a target of sub
7hrs and I was quietly confident about it. I was directed to the lower car park
on arrival and caught the shuttle bus up to the Turntable car park. By now, the
sun is out, but it was still cold. Dropped off my bag and went on to
registration. Said hi to a few familiar faces and before I know it, we were
ready to start.
The tireless RD, Brett giving pre-race briefing
First 15km
8:30am and we were off. I have been
“secretly” training with few of the Surf Coast Trail Runners here, especially Dion.
Managed to find him among the pack and we somehow decided to run together. His
target was to complete the race in 8hrs, but knowing how he has been training,
I “pushed” him to adjust his target to sub 7hrs.
I initially had my feed alert for
every 35min, but decided to adjust it to follow Dion’s every 40min instead. It
worked well as we kept each other in check with the feed.
Yes, we were having fun!
This section was nice and we cruise
through it. Took us 1hr 45min and we are on track for sub 7hrs finish.
Next 15km
A quick refuel at the aid station
and off to our first climb to Flinders Peak. Managed to hi fives some of the
runners along the way and gave each other some encouragement. The trip is
around 3km return and it took us 30min to cover it. We will have to do this
climb again after 30km, while the 80km participants have to climb this peak 3
times.
The rest of the section was
manageable and we were comfortable with our pace. Total time 3hr 50min and the
target was still on track.
Last 20km
It was great to finally meet Liberty
(Dion’s better half) at the aid station and know that she had completed her
15km race better than her target time. This was very inspirational and it
provided some motivation for my second climb up Finders Peak.
It felt hard and slow this time
round. By now, the field was well spread and we did not see many runners during
this stretch. My knees were feeling it on the descent and had to slow down. Followed
Dion’s advice to slow down and get down to the aid station safely. This time round, it took us 33min.
Shortly after, we were faced with
the steep climb up Saddle back track. Dion and I were saying, one day, we will
run up this slope. But for now, we shall walk.
The next few km was on bike tracks
and they are fairly flat, which means lots of running... By now, fatigue had
set in. I have decided to adopt the run / walk strategy. Around 40km, I felt a
familiar pain on my left knee. Damn you ITB! For the next 2km, I tried to
change my footing a bit and stretch out the ITB, but at 42km and 5hr 46min into
the race, I decided not to risk it. Told Dion to keep going and get that sub7hr
while I walk the last 8km to Finish.
Me and Dion at the finish
Dion eventually finished 6hr 55min (sub
7hrs yeh!!!) and I crossed the line 7hr 11min. I may be a little disappointed
with my results, but I am just as happy to be able to complete the race in 1
piece. And my "Mark II" worked brilliantly. Just the occasional rubbing of the velcro rubbed onto my arm when the poles were out. This went away after a small adjustment to the velcro. I was also happy with my discipline on the nutrition. It worked well.
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...
Passed the Turntable AS, had
a quick drink and headed north to West Walk...
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...
Below are some pics I took along either the
East or West Track... Cannot really remember weather it was the East or West Walk when I took them...
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...
Desperate time leads to
desperate measures... just before I reach the Turntable AS, I popped 2 panadols
with a hope that they can last me through to the end... Made it to 30km...
Decided to hang around the AS a bit longer... Removed my right shoe to
clear the tiny rocks, stretched my ITB, cleared my rubbish, ate some fruit
cake, down some electrolyte... Time check, 3hrs 42mins... took a deep
breadth and headed off...
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)...
Made it to the AS and scanned
my eyes over the table for the coke... Yes, there was still 1 cup left... Down
the coke... ahhh... coke never tasted so good... Quick chat with the volunteers
and confirmed that this was it, last 6km to finish! Time check, 6hrs 12mins...
Hmmm... maybe can do a sub 7hrs finish... Come on!!!
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..."
As much as I would like to
finish strong, my left leg is just not cooperating... Just have to take it easy
and do an easy 8min pace to the finish...
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...
Made it across the Finish
line... 7hours, 8minutes and 31seconds... Saw Dave and we congratulated each
other... He had finished 3min ahead of me... Finally some warm food... Sausage
sizzle time!!!
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 memessing
around with my portable charger... Yeh!!! Yeh!!!
- MT110 definitely provide
more protection than MT10 and I am glad that it works well for me...
- Started off to fast, need
to slow down... But what to do? It was good to chat with others who are
going through the same pain...
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...
This is it!!! 2 more sleeps to VTRC Race 2... Name on the starting list... There's no turning back now...
Really enjoyed race 1 at Maroondah Dam back in Feb... Since then, I did not line up any race and you can imagine my anticipation that has been building up inside me for this race...
Few lessons learnt from Race 1...
1) Hills training - Have thrown in quite a few hills training over the last few months... Hopefully my legs are ready for the mountains...
2) Start slow - Race 1 started with a steep incline and I pushed too hard trying to maintain pace with the other runners... Wrong strategy... should have stick to my own pace... Will be hard to hold back with all the excitement but will try...
3) Hydration - Carried too much water with my Deuter bag last race... Will be using a 1.5l Denali hydration bag that I bought from Anaconda during the Easter sale... Only cost me $15... what a bargain!!!
4) Footwear - Will stick to my trusty MT10... Hopefully Mt Macedon is more forgiving than Maroondah Dam (got a strange feeling that I will regret this...)
Weather Forecast for Sunday - Low of 7 degrees and top of 13, with showers... Will be wearing long sleeve and bringing my waterproof jacket (compulsory gear)... Will also start with gloves and see what happen after... Hopefully the early morning runs that I have been doing will help my body settle in to the high mountain (height of 1000m and technically is above the snow line) chill...
Few more foam rolling and carb loading (yes, even for a 30km race)...
What a race!!! Another personal best time for me (errr first time running this course mah :p) even though I came in 199th place out of 125 runners with a time of 4:36:18... Follow this link for the results...
Here's the ins and outs and ups and downs on race day, Sunday 19-Feb-2012...
Woke up at 5:15am and tip toed around the bedroom so as to not wake the ladies (Angel, Lena & Angelena)...
Zzz... Zzz... Zzz...
Angel, sharp as usual, woke up and followed me around to supervise my pre-race routine... Fed Angel so that she do not get grumpy and kissed goodbye to all the ladies and headed out at 6:15am... The journey, according to my trusty GPS, will take approximately 1.5hrs...
Reached the gate around 7:40am and saw 2 buses with the 50km runners making their way to the start line... They start at 8am while we the 30km starts at 10am... Parked the car, geared up and head towards the registration tent...
Registration...
Received my bib and also a map of the course... Come on, who needs a map, the course is well marked and there should be runners in front anyway isn't it? Hmmm...
yeh... race bib and race map...
It was not until 9:40am that our bus leaves for the 30km start line... That explains why the registration was supposed to be until 8:30am and I still see people registering at 9am... Next year I will know... if there's a next year for me...
All set to go go go!!!
Brett, the Race Director, started his RD briefing at 9:50am... Before our 10am start, there were already 5 or 6 males and 1 female from the 50km race that have passed us... meaning, these people have done their first 20km in under 2 hrs!!! Respect...
RD, Brett Saxon providing the briefing... Notice that he is standing on a slope?
I vaguely remembered he mentioning something like: "when you reach the tower, just look up a bit during the descent to keep a lookout for the exit marking... it's pretty obvious and you should not have any issue... otherwise, you will reach the bottom and see fellow runners running towards you.... you would have gone 1km too far..." I thought to myself, how hard can it be... hmmm...
fellow30km starters...
I felt really good, especially after last week's tapering and last 2 days' carb loading... All set for my first trail race!!! RD waved the start off at 10am and off we go...
No easy start here, it is up, up, and up...
Go go go...
Open trail becomes single file around the 1km mark...
Looking back at the bottle neck behind the first obstacle...
Finally... Run free!!!
Almost the entire first 20km is ascent...
Slowly, the field spreads out... And dark clouds starts to form...
I think this is just after the 10km mark... some trail riders having their Sunday morning fix...
Devastation from the 2009 bush fire... As a result, the 2009 race was cancelled...
Burnt, but still standing tall...
Around the 18km mark... Steepest climb of all... after that, mostly downhill for the last 10km...
This is where my race fell apart... I came to this point after a water station about 200m behind me... The marker points to the right, meaning we have to start our climb on grass... No problem, I can still see and follow runners in front of me... Notice the couple in white and blue top in front? I actually closed the gap to less than 20m during the climb... The climb was, TOUGH... Especially after 19km of running already... There are loose rock, branches, twigs, leaves... The elevation was about 500m...
There they were... Almost caught up to them...
The tower at the end of the climb...
Before reaching the top, I saw the 2 runners in front of me turned right... Hence I followed after I reached the top... It was then a gradual downhill curve to the left... My natural instinct was to keep to the left inner trail... I was concentrating on my footings and honestly, did not look out for markers as it I assumed the trail just continues... I was going downhill pretty fast and was surprised that I did not caught up with the couple in front... I thought, maybe they are really good downhill runners...
After about 5mins of downhill, I suddenly saw runners, all 50km runners (they have blue bib) coming towards me but to my left... I was like "what the f@#*? what the hell is happening?" As I approached nearer, I realised that I was back at the 18km mark before my climb!!! "what the f@#*" x 2!!!
Then I remembered what the RD had said in his briefing, "look up after you reach the top"... sign... Honestly, the thought of me climbing the hill again nearly kills me... I was so angry and agitated that I was about to give up... But seeing the 50km runners passing me and tackling the hill motivated me to carry on... My thoughts were: "suck it up man... with the wrong turn, you are still doing less than the 50km runners... so just dig in and carry on..." And I am glad that I did...
On hindsight, I should have backtracked and it would be an easier climb... However, I decided not to and just follow the other runners to climb the hill again since I was now only aiming for completion...
Maroondah Reservoir less than 3km to finish...
I think the mountain at the background was where we started...
Finish!!! 4:36:18
I reckon the wrong turn I took added 1.6km and cost me half an hour... Stats don't lie... here's my garmin recording...
Course - Very very very challenging... especially the first 20km... respect for the 50km runners... after their first 20km, they still need to go through the next 20km with massive ascent...
Weather - Perfect... low 20s and we did get some drizzle but it was only for a short while, hence no problem...
Water Stations - Every 5km... Water, sports drink, lollies and cakes!!! some water station has GU gels too... Big thank you for the hard working volunteers...
Atmosphere - unlike road races where you can hear crowds cheering you on, all you get is the serenity of the forest... It was really nice...
My final thoughts...
First trail race, and loved every moment of it... yes, I loved the fact that I can bounce back from the mistake and finish the race...
I was targeting 4hrs, but nonetheless, still a PB...
I would have use my water belt instead of my Deuter bag if I would have known that the water stations are so well organised...
MT10 works like magic... I get good grips all the way and did not have a fall... However, a little more cushion is preferable as I can really feel the rocks and it no longer becomes fun when my feet got a bit sore...
No issues with the Forerunner 610 and heart rate monitor... they worked perfectly...
Start slower with low heart rate and work it up as the race progress...
Need more hills training, both uphill and downhill...
Finisher's medal - Front & Back
Very much looking forward to Race 2 - Macedon Ranges... Bring it on!!!
恭禧發財!!! Happy Chinese New Year!!! Wishing everyone all the very best in the year of the dragon!!!
Angelena: "Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!! I am wearing red!!!"
Cannot believe it, we are already in February... My lifelong marathon is already over 3 months old... And my oh my, she is growing and getting heavier... Not that I am complaining, I am happy that she is growing... In fact, she is helping Lena and me to be leaner (Lena becoming leaner... get it? hehehe...), toning up those arm muscles (biceps and triceps etc) with all the carrying her around we do... Think our abs also got stronger with all the "rocking her to sleep" exercises... Maybe I should write a training manual on "How to tone your body with your baby"... hmmm...
Now for the boring stuff... January has been, well, slack... My company was closed for the Xmas/New Year holiday period and I was only back to work on 9-Jan... So I should have done a lot of running during these 9 days right? errr... not really... Let's take a look...
Here is my supposed training plan for January... This is to prepare me for my ultra trail 50km race in June later this year...
Training Plan for January 2012
The training requires me to clock 206km in January alone... Sounds crazy... yeh, hence why I said "supposed" training plan... So how are my actuals tracking against this plan?
January progress...
Total Jan-12 mileage, 67.3km... far from the supposed 206km... At this rate, I may not even lock 1,000km this year... So what happened? Priority has been given to my lifelong marathon, hence more core training than just the silly road pounding... We just have to make the best out of what we can or have...
Quick preview to my signed up races for this year... Note that I am not racing to be on the podium, just wanna be a low key finisher...
