The Northface 100 2011

This is my third draft. The first one too short, the second one too long and too objective, like as if I was reporting the race for someone else.

So I am going to summarise it.

I really enjoyed running this race. It was challenging, it was difficult, I was fatigued. Tired. Sleepy. Hungry. But I didn't feel shitty like I did last year. I brought food, in the form of sugars. And I wore proper trail shoes and not a pair of running shoes like I did last year. Things not to do when running TNF, checked. I have to be prepared this time, expecting to run this trail on my own. I made an ambitious target to complete this run in eight hours. I like to set myself some target but unfortunately the heat brought me to my knees. It  got so hot, I am reduced to walking as I was feeling light-headed and taking longer breaks at the water stations. There were a couple of confusion on the trails as well as there were no directional signages on some parts and a lot of us got confused. So time wasted as well.

I really like running through the Durian Trail. I made a mental note to run this trail during my training runs. Mandai was not so intimidating now. I have no problems running all the downhills and walking the uphills. I was alone this time but occasionally accompanied by Endon and Aida, my new running mates. I don't really mind running alone. But it was super hot. At the water station, they gave out towels which I soaked in iced water and told myself to hang on to this until at least I leave Mandai. I use the cold towel to cover my head and my back and cool my face so that helped to shelter the heat. Sort of.

Coming back to MacRitchie was a relief. I was doing the same thing I did earlier. Run downhills, walk uphills, and fortunately going back saw a lot of downhills. But I was slow. Painfully slow. I could sense fatigued creeping in and my whole body was aching. My legs were just heavy, refused to go any faster. I was getting impatient. Where is the end? My hands felt tight and when I looked at my hands, I was surprised that it was all puffy and bloated. Later, Syah told me it was caused by having too much sodium in my body. Well, kiasu punya pasal, sampai ter-overdose electrolytes.

I did not stop running until I reached the finish line but I barely made it through the 9-hour cut-off time. 8 hours and 55 minutes, that was the time I took to complete this tough 50KM. This is no ordinary ultramarathon and one that tested your physical and mental endurance.

I should have learned by now not to make promises or use words like 'giving up', 'retire', 'insaf' when I have just finished a race and when the painful memory is still fresh in my mind. I am already craving to go back. I am craving to try this route one more time. But I'll come back when I am fully rested, I have to give my body and legs time to recover.

So that's it.

I hope I did not bore you with my lacklustre story but I really had nothing much going except that I wished I had clocked a much better timing. And my bib is still intact, with hardly any scratch. But I am thankful that I have managed to complete this without any injuries. I can run tomorrow if I want to.

However, immediately after the run, my whole body felt like one big cast iron. It was heavy and my muscles were aching pretty bad. Even though I had a massage after the run, it didn't help one bit. My plan to do a recovery run the next day during NB Real Run did not materialise as I couldn't get out of bed and when I did, I can't walk. Run? Don't count on it! It took me three days to finally be able to walk properly. I had to take a cab to the office for two straight days (I usually walk to work) as I cannot bear the thought of going up and down the stairs.

There. My biggest race this year done. The one that I actually registered and sort of trained for. Hehe.

Till the next race...

We meet again. So happy to see you guys!

Waiting for our food to arrive at BaliThai, Novena Square.