MR25 Ultra Marathon 2007

I participated in the 2007 MR25 Ultra Marathon. The event is a 12 hour time limited event from 7am to 7pm and counts how many time a person completed the MacRitchie loop which is 10.5km in length. In order to qualify as a finisher, I need to complete at least 5 laps.


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I arrived the MacRitchie and around 6:25am. Got register with the bib number 1048. I carried with me Milo, Jello, Gel and Kraft Oreo waffler sticks. I put on my petroleum gel on both feet, sunblock, Action cream and then ready to go.

Due to the fact that I did not rest the day before, I decided to go for very conservative strategy and aimed to complete 5 laps and then see if I am ok enough to complete the 6th lap. Anyway, if I complete 5 laps, this will be by far my longest run at 52.5km If I am able to consistently hit 7km/hr, there should be plenty of time for me to finish 6 laps.

The day started with nice weather. Because I was outside for 4.5 hours the day before, I knew that I did not start in my best condition. The goal is to complete 5 laps and see how it goes. The first lap is ok at 1:26:15, inline with my expected speed of 7km/h.

After a short 5 minutes break, I started my second lap. I started to feel that my right foot has expanded and now is occasionally hitting the front of the shoe. If continue for 5 laps, I definitely will have black toenail or even worst. Also, I was wearing a Nike Pegasus TC which has a lighter weight version of Pegasus. Due to the lighter weight, I believe it has less cushioning and I can feel the rock through the sole of the shoe. On the way at the golf link, I was catching up to a girl and she sudden lost her support on the left leg and almost fall down. I asked her if she is ok and she said she is ok, then I just continued. I still finished in good time of 1:35:20. By then, my shorts, singlet is all wet already. I decided to change to my spare shoe. To add more cushioning, I decided to go for double sock with Injinji inside and Thorlon sock outside. I also change my singlet, take a break and chat with some of the sgrunners. As time flies, the break has become 30 minutes long before I started my third lap.

It was becoming all sunny and hot. I add a small belt and bring along one of the fuelbelt's water bottle so that I can refill it at the water station and drink it in between water stations. But the heat and the muscle starts to eat in. I cannot maintain my speed on the upslope and need to slow down significantly in the rough terrain between the end of golf-link and Lornie Road. Timing wise is drifted to 1:46:30.

For the 4 laps, the ITB at the knee for both left and right leg are tightening up. I can no longer reach my normal brisk walking speed. Slowing down to 6-6.5km/hr on flat and need to lower the cadence and shorten the stride on the up-slope. Timing also stretched to 2:01:00. Now, it is clear that I will not be able to do six laps judging from the condition of my legs.

It is hot and sunny. But suddenly, some cloud appears and block the sun. I decided to start the 5th lap. And about 1km into it, I meet up with the girl that I encounter on the 2nd lap. And we start to just walk along and chatting, taking rest in the Ranger Station. When it comes to the stairs, she start to struggle due to her knee problem starting in lap 2. At the Jelulong Tower, I decided to move ahead. Because of the slow walk, I have recover quite a bit of energy and I start my normal brisk walking. Unfortunately, the higher speed of brisk walking has generated extra heat and a blister was formed right under the forefoot of my right foot. It is still 3.5km from finish line and the blister is painful for every step I took. I have to curl my toes inward and use it to support my right foot to reduce the pain. I finished the 5th lap in 2:18:00.

When I arrive the finish line, it was 10:08:30. I don't have enough strength to go for another lap (my blister will not allow me at all). I just called it a day.



Summary of Timing for each lap
Lap 1 - 1:26:15
Lap 2 - 1:35:20
Lap 3 - 1:46:30
Lap 4 - 2:01:00
Lap 5 - 2:18:00


52.5km is the longest run that I ever have. Although the pace is slower than I expect and I have taken too long during the breaks, but overall, I am happy that I have completed the event.

Definitely for next year, I will shoot for 6 laps as minimum.

Formula Drift

On the eve of the MR25 Ultra, I did not do the usual thing of staying at home, rest and carbo-load. Instead, I went to the Extreme Night exhibition in Singapore Expo. They have the drifting demonstration which is fascinating.

These are high power rear-wheel drive car. The driver control the car under drifting which is not easy to control. The drift generate lots of smoke and strong burning rubber smell. This is the first time I am using the D200 in an action sport. The focus of the D200 is amazingly good. Even though I am only using a cheapo 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, the continue focus mode is able to give perfect focus 95% of the time. I have a lot of keepers. The high speed continuous shot is also amazingly good.

Here are some of the shots:

Smoke coming out!!


More smoke coming out!


Even MORE smoke coming out!


Wow! It is all surrounded by tyre smoke!


Three cars drifting at the same time!


This is the difference between the wore tyre and the new tyre. All the groves are gone!!


You can get up-close with the drifter!



Five Sequential shots in a second.

Interval Run

This is my first interval run after Singapore Marathon. Since my shin splint two months ago, I am building up my training slowly. I did a 400m x 8 @5min/km pace with 2 min rest in between in Queenstown Stadium. I took the first lap slowly as not sure what is the right pace. I speed up my second one to 4:30 pace. Then, I am on target for the rest of the intervals and even push for fast speed of 4min/km pace in my last one. Legs feels good, no shin splint.


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Garmin Forerunner 305 User Review Part Three

Software

The Garmin Training Center (GTC) comes with the watch is pretty basic. It has three major functions - Training History, Training Workout and Training Courses.

Training History. The GTC serves the need of loading up the training data. When you connect the watch to the computer, the GTC will pop-up and download the data from the watch. It shows your training history organized by week on the left while showing your training route and graph on the right.


The map that comes with it is not good for Singapore. Basically, there is no detail at all. The example below is a run along the East Coast Park. The GTC default map even only show an ocean.


I loaded a map from the malsingmaps.com to the GTC and it works much better. I can have detail enough map shown in the GTC. However, I still prefer the Google map that I got in other software.


You can replace the map with "Total" which can show you lap-by-lap data and summary of your HR/pace by zones.

It is very useful. And I have an Auto-lap of 400m meaning that the watch will create a "lap" every 400m. This "Total" tab allows me to analyze my run lap-by-lap.

Workout. The GTC allows the customization of training workout. However, I found that it is very complicated to edit and design a workout. I just use the build-in ones. I do not really use the workout function.


Courses. I use the Courses function to upload a course to the watch. This is the only way that I know of to upload training courses.


From a functionality perspective, there are several shortcomings in GTC:
- it does not track the shoe usage
- I cannot display the split time and the map at the same time
- the display graph is not flexible enough
The SportTracks will be better in these area. However, I still use the GTC for downloading courses to the watch which cannot be done by using other software.
I still have not fully explore the workout menu as well.

MotionBased

My first "upgrade" is to use the MotionBased. MotionBased is a web based software accessed by the browser. The basic membership is free. You can download a MotionBased Agent from the Garmin site. The MotionBased Agent will recognize the forerunner 305 and sync the data between the watch and the Motionbased website.

The MotionBased really upgrade two important features - map & elevation.
The MotionBased Map is based on the Google Map which is much better. You can also switch to satellite view or Hybrid (overlaying map on satellite image).

This is the one that I always use in my blog.

The elevation data captured by the Forerunner 305 is very bad. It is totally incorrect and not usable. However, if you upload your data to MotionBased, it will use a real map's elevation data to correct it and give you the right elevation change.


The MotionBased also provides some basic analysis such as lap-by-lap, graphs etc. But these are not better than the one in GTC. There is a premium service on the MotionBased that suppose to give you better analysis. But I do not subscribe and don't know whether they are good.



The basic service of MotionBased will only allow you to access the last 10 activities though all of them are being stored in the site. If you want to access the older one, you need a premium service. But there is a trick. Since your MotionBased data is shared on the TrailNetwork, you can logout of MotionBased and search your activities in the TrailNetwork. You can access your old data as well.

SportTracks

The next upgrade is the SportTrakcs. You can download it free but remember to download SportTracks v2.0. The version 1.0 is not good but the v2.0 is much better. You can Import Tracks from the Forerunner 305 which is automatically identified by the software. It has nicer graphics than GTC and can display a graphic, a table, and the map at the same time. The map is a Google based map and allow you to choose between map or satellite images (in case you run in trails).


You can also enter your shoe and it can help you to track the usage.


For the activity, you can select the split summary which I like it a lot. It can give you a plot of your pace for the different labs. You can also select a different split such as 1km. The portion of run related to the lab is highlighted in RED color on the map.


There is also a weekly activity summary which allows you to look at your weekly mileage.


I like the SportTracks better than GTC. Currently, after every run, I will hookup my watch to the PC and upload to GTC. Then, I run the MotionBased Agent to upload it to MotionBased which I use the Google Map to document it in my Blog. Then, I run SportTracks to capture the data and have a look of my splits. I wish there is a single software that combine all the strength of them.


Overall Comment on Forerunner 305

In the few months that I use it, I did encounter some issues:
- the Delete of training history by using "Keep 1 month" or "Keep 3 months" does not work on the old firmware. Have not tried the function with the new firmware.
- not able to check how much memory left. It did alert to me when the memory is almost use up. When the data is really full, it stop recording (instead of automatically delete the oldest data). I missed one event data due to not knowing how to delete history in the watch properly.
- the discoloring of one of the electrical contact though I have no issue in communication to PC.
- I encounter once that it cannot be properly power up. I have to use the soft reset to correct it.
- I encounter once that the watch mysteriously discharged though I have it fully charged the night before (and it happen on my first Marathon run!). But I did not know whether I accidentally hit the POWER switch and drain the power though it is very remote since the button is very stiff and you have to hold it for two second to power up the watch.

Pros:
- smallest GPS watch. Other solutions from Timex & Polar are all bigger
- Large readable display with on-demand backlight
- Flexible data field display
- accurate distance, no calibration needed
- once lock-on to Satellite, can stay locked even going under tree, underpass etc.
- data are in industry format, easy to use data in other software such as SportTracks, Mapmyrun

Cons:
- only up to 10 hours battery life, cannot be used in Ultra event
- Garmin Training Center & MotionBased are not good enough
- Initial lock on to Satellite can take long time
- Workout too complicated to customize
- Have to use Cradle to charge & sync
- Need to buy footpod for treadmill use and it is not cheap
- Buttons are a bit too stiff, need to press hard to activate

Hope this review helps to the evaluate your buying option. Here are the links to Part One and Part Two.

Garmin Forerunner 305 User Review Part Two

The Forerunner 305 is bigger than a normal watch. But compared to the Forerunner 301, it is significantly smaller. It feels ok when wearing and does not feel too heavy even for an endurance run.


The watch has a total of 7 buttons, two on the front, two on left side and three on the right side. The two in the front are the START/STOP and LAP(RESET) button. The RESET is to reset the time counter to zero (i.e. start a new count) rather than reseting the watch. Navigation of the menu is done by the buttons on the left and right side which has the POWER button, the MODE button which also acts something like previous, the UP/DOWN button and the ENTER button.



Use of the Watch

You start the watch by holding the POWER button for two seconds. After it started, it will first search for the satellites.

It is not easy to get the initial lock. If you are indoor, placing the watch near a window will not get you a lock. From my experience, you need to have at least 2/3 of the sky open in order to get a lock. You can improve the locking by facing the Garmin logo upwards. I typically will take my watch off, face the Garmin logo upwards, get a lock and then start using it. You can see the individual satellites' status as well.


In my experience, once you get a lock, it tracks the satellites pretty well. Even you run under the tree with heavy tree coverage (e.g. MacRitchie), or temporarily run under an overpass, it still gets a good track. Even inside a rain shelter with one/two sides open, it can still tracks the satellites. But the initial lock can take anywhere from 15 seconds to 5 minutes. There are times that I just don't want to wait and just start running. It will eventually get locked to the Satellite but it may take a even longer time. I have a case that it took 1.5km of run to get locked. Please take note that when you are moving, it takes longer time to lock. Therefore, it is better for me to remain stationary to get a lock. Or sometimes I will take the watch off, put it on the ground and do some warm up. And when I finish the warmup, it typically will get the lock.

The watch has a very flexible display. It has two main display, 1 running display, 1 cycling display and 1 for other sports. In each display, you can define to display 1 to 4 data fields. Each data field can choose the data that you want to display. It is very flexible. I generally put the different combination of data I want into the two main + running display and I can easily cycle through them by pressing the up/down button during the run. You can also set it to scroll automatically but I think the auto-scroll mode is more for cycling use. The only part that I want is to allow displaying pace & speed at the same time. In the current software, you have to choose displaying either pace or speed but not both. (noted that the blue tint below is not seen on the watch, it is caused by the difference of the camera shutter speed and the LCD refresh rate)


The display is crisp and very readable. At night, you can press the POWER button once to turn on the green color backlight temporarily.

The watch can record and store my route. If I use the per second data recording which will record at every second, it can only store 3.5 hours of activities. However, if I choose Smart Recording which only create a record every couple of seconds, it can record many, many times more. I only need to start deleting data after 3 months of usage with total of around 40 hours of workout. I can view the activities on the watch. However, please take note that the rechargeable battery inside the Forerunner 305 can only last up to 10 hours, possibly less when it is not new. Therefore the Forerunner is not really for Ultra Endurance activities (e.g. 60km or more).


One of the advantage of the GPS watch vs a footpod based watch is the map. I can draw my running route on Mapmyrun site and download a copy in .GPX format. Then, I can upload it to the watch as a course via Garmin Training Center. The map will show up on the watch. The elevation data also be loaded into the watch which is much more accurate than the elevation data detected via GPS. You can select to view the elevation profile which helps you to plan your tactics.


When I run, the map will show my position on the course. It will also calculate how much longer to go based on my average pace. If I run off-course, it will alert me as well. And if you set an average pace in the .GPX file, you can "race" with the virtual partner which is set at the average pace. The watch will show the relative position in distance between you and the virtual partner. It is kind of nice to motivate me to run.

Garmin also comes with training feature. So far, I only use one - interval training.


It is pretty flexible, you can set it by distance or by time for the run/rest. Then, you can set the detail and the number of repetition.



When using the interval training, the watch will show you the current status and have a countdown alert for you to switch between run & rest. However, the speaker which is located at the back of the watch is very weak. I can hardly hear the alert on the road but it is okay if I am running in a stadium which is much quieter.


to be continue in part three and link to part one.

Garmin Forerunner 305 User Review Part One

I bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 in Aug. So far, I have used it for 4 months in 60 runs. I think that it is about time for me to do a detail user review.

Content

I bought my Forerunner 305 from eBay as a newly overhauled unit. It comes as a box in here.


Inside, it contains the watch and its accessories.


The watch can be connected to the computer via the cradle and a USB cable.


At the back of the watch, there are four contact points which is connected to the cradle. Please noted that there can be discoloring of the contact point. I have the leftmost one discolored. But don't use abrasive material such as sandpaper to clean it as it will make it worse. I find out that it is best just rub it with the towel after run, then rinse the watch with tap water.


The watch also comes with an extension on the strap. It is used if you need to wear on outside the jacket or mount it on the bike. The tool for changing the strap is provided as well.


The watch is charged through the USB port. You must put the watch on the cradle and then connect the USB cable to the cradle. The package comes with a universal voltage charger and an adaptor for using it in Europe. I don't use the charger at all as I charge it via the USB in the computer when I sync my data.


The package comes with manual and the Garmin Training Center software on a CD.


The heart rate monitor use a plastic/rubber belt, not as flexible as the wearlink from Polar. The center portion is pretty wide and rigid. It does not fit well on center of my chest. I typically wear it shifted a few inches to the left. The elastic band at the back works fine and I do not get any chaffing from it.


The heartrate monitor use a standard lithium battery and is user replaceable. It claims that it can use for 3 years of normal usage.


To be continue in part two.