This is my first time joing the Penang 12 hr walk. I went there on Sat and back to Singapore on Sunday. I don't even stay in a hotel.
The event has 200+ participant. The sky open up before midnight and the right did not stop throughout the night. Therefore, basically a wet race most of the time. At one time, the rain is so serious that if it is a Formula 1 race, I think they would have red flag it. I am in the Junior Veteran group which has 37 participant. Singapore Akira Swift has sent a team over there as well.
I started slow as part of my warm-up routine. A few laps later, I was lapped by a young guy, then, later by more people. But I was on a turtle strategy - slow and consistent. When it was 20+ laps, the sky opens up. I quickly grab my poncho and put it on. I continue to walk at a steady pace of 9:00 to 10:00 per km. Some participant initially seek shelter and some conintue when the rain get a little bit lighter. Some holding an umbrella while walking. Initially, the poncho was creating quite a wind resistance when walking pass the waterfront section. I later tie some knot to make it fit better and reduce some drag. If I don't have the poncho, I definitely cannot go on as I would have lost body heat and get into hypothemia (shivering is one of the sign). When I developed some signs of cramps, I approach the medical tent, but they advise not to put in counterpain, saying that when it mixed with rainwater, it becomes too hot. I ignore it and use my own, it works fine. Sometimes, the "expert" may not be right.
At the middle of the course on Lubet Light, there are street light and decoration blow up during the walk due to the rain. A little bit of spark flies! And street light keep switch on-and-off randomly.
For my slow and steady strategy to work, I seldom take breaks. Only a few to stretch my back which last for less than a minute. Or when I apply my deep heat rub. All my food and drink are grab-and-walk-while-eating style. Just slowly piling up mileage. Since the rain never stops, I never change shoe or t-shirt. I completed the marathon distance at 6 hr 22 minutes which is a good timing. When approaching the end-game, when there is 68 minutes left, I can either simply go for 6 more lap at 10 minutes pace or try to squeeze in another lap but will need to go faster for an hour. I decided to try it out. I got into 3 laps of 8:30 pace and then another 3 laps at 9:00 pace. At the end, I finished my 72 laps with 2 minutes to spare. The total distance is about 77.6km. This is a new record for me. My first 12 hr walk was 60km, last year, I got to 75km.
In my category, I was ranked 4th and got a trophy and a RM50 prize money. The winner has 84 laps (90.5 km). Even the third place person is 79 laps. 4th is really the best I can get.
Amazingly, there is no blister even though my feet as soaked in the water for 8 hr+. When I first took of the socks, both feet are completely white in colour (like those water soaked chicken feet). It takes an hour of drying to return back to yellow-ish colour.
Overall, the organiser is ok.
- have a room for luggage (you need to pay RM 1). When you need to leave your passport with them, it is important that you feel safe.
- food was alright. There are water melon, banana, sandwiches, curry puff, packaged break, egg, rice noodle.
- drink was NOT alright. They only have plain water. I think it is lucky that it rains, otherwise, I can see people drinking too much water and have hyponatremia. The coffee truck and the milo truck disappear after the race started. Why?
- there is a medical tent, that's good.
- there is music and some performance. But when the rain started, the music is gone
- there is only a small analog clock about 50cm in diameter. They should have those big digial clock instead!
- Finisher medal is alright. The cert is not customized (fill-by-yourself)
- no goodie bag (not a concern for me)
- t-shirt is not dri-fit
- bib is cloth, although old fashion, but works much better than paper in the rain!!
- there is no umpire around. Some people run in the back stretch and one of the "runner" won a prize.
- only one timing station. Not sure any one take shortcut. It is actually possible to take shortcuts.
Overall, it is a good walk in park.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sundown Marathon Ultra 100km
I have been away in the last couple of weeks. This means that my last run/exercise before the Sundown Ultra was the Sundown Marathon. The lack of training reflects immediately even before the start. When I climbed up the stair to the top of Marina barrage, I had slight pain on my left knee. Right after the start, I tried to run down the "grass patch", I had slight pain on my left leg as well. Not a good sign at all. I reset my expectation to complete in 16.5 hr to merely to finish within cutoff.
Due to the uncomfortable left leg, I decided to walk instead of run/walk. I started brisk walking right at the beginning, taking it easy in the first 3km at around 8:30 pace, accelerate a little bit to around 8:00 pace before the first pitstop. At the first pitstop, I just grab a bottle of water, a sandwich and a bag of chips. I did not stop at all. And settled my pace to a comfortable, non-aggressive pace of 8:30 to 9:00. I did the quick grab and go at the 2nd pitstop before the Changi Coastal road. I hit the half marathon distance at 3 hrs. At the long boring Changi Coastal Road, I focus on passing the next person in front of me. That keep me occupied and fully motivated. And I did passed a few.
The 30km stop is at Changi Beach Park, I did the same grab-n-go. But I started to feel a hot spot developed at the ball of foot in my left foot. I stop and air it and it goes ok. The 40km stop is at Pasir Ris Park. While my spirit is still good, I have slow down further. Seeing the pitstop but still need to go a big loop around it is demoralizing. I did a brief stop at 40km. Mainly, eat, wash my face. Staying between 3 to 5 minutes in all subsequent pitstops. I hit the full marathon distance at 6 hr 24 mins which is about 5 minutes faster than my previous Sundown Ultra. I continue to have reasonable pace but find that my left foot hot spot is getting worst. I need to avoid hitting hard on my left foot, choosing to step on some of the metal drain cover instead of the concrete road. I typically don't like the sand/gravel track at Bedok, but this time, I like it. I hit the 50km around 7 hr 50 minutes. Got my drop bag, change t-shirt, shoe, sock, drink-n-eat, and get out of it at 8:03. There is still 10 hours available should be sufficient of time for me to finish.
I was walking slower and slower, after 60km, my blister finally comes. I stopped. pinch and drain the liquid and move on. The return leg of Pasir Ris Park is bad, boring and difficult to focus. In the next stretch of Pasir Ris Drive 3 & Loyang Ave, I was very slow and passed by some walkers. At 70km, my pace slows down to 10-11 min/km.
The return leg of Changi Coastal Road was horrible. I was sleepy, tired and almost lost the spirit. I was so slow that I was passed by quite a few. I finally find my rhythm about 2 km before the end of Changi Coastal Road. I was doing 200-300m relaxed walk and 100m aggressive brisk walk. This has help me to regain my spirit.
By the time I got to 80km pitstop, the sun is shining bright. Luckily, there was wind in ECP during the morning and helps a lot. And the familiar ECP helps to get back the spirit. I made the final pitstop on ECP. In the last 10km, I try to skip any break and just continue. The last 4km was under the strong sun and tough. One runner that I passed has no water and I let him took some of mine. In the last 2km, I accelerate and passed a few runners. On the Marina Barrage, I dash for 500m and passed another half a dozen. I even run up the ramp to the top of the Barrage.
In total, I brisk walked 99.5km, dash the last 500m and finished 17 hr 8 min 48 s.
My timing at 84km was about 30 mins faster than my 2009 Sundown Ultra timing. I am happy with the result.
I want to thank the numerous supporter along the way. Many stay up throughout the night providing drinks, cheer and taking photos. The supporter really help us to maintain our spirit.
Due to the uncomfortable left leg, I decided to walk instead of run/walk. I started brisk walking right at the beginning, taking it easy in the first 3km at around 8:30 pace, accelerate a little bit to around 8:00 pace before the first pitstop. At the first pitstop, I just grab a bottle of water, a sandwich and a bag of chips. I did not stop at all. And settled my pace to a comfortable, non-aggressive pace of 8:30 to 9:00. I did the quick grab and go at the 2nd pitstop before the Changi Coastal road. I hit the half marathon distance at 3 hrs. At the long boring Changi Coastal Road, I focus on passing the next person in front of me. That keep me occupied and fully motivated. And I did passed a few.
The 30km stop is at Changi Beach Park, I did the same grab-n-go. But I started to feel a hot spot developed at the ball of foot in my left foot. I stop and air it and it goes ok. The 40km stop is at Pasir Ris Park. While my spirit is still good, I have slow down further. Seeing the pitstop but still need to go a big loop around it is demoralizing. I did a brief stop at 40km. Mainly, eat, wash my face. Staying between 3 to 5 minutes in all subsequent pitstops. I hit the full marathon distance at 6 hr 24 mins which is about 5 minutes faster than my previous Sundown Ultra. I continue to have reasonable pace but find that my left foot hot spot is getting worst. I need to avoid hitting hard on my left foot, choosing to step on some of the metal drain cover instead of the concrete road. I typically don't like the sand/gravel track at Bedok, but this time, I like it. I hit the 50km around 7 hr 50 minutes. Got my drop bag, change t-shirt, shoe, sock, drink-n-eat, and get out of it at 8:03. There is still 10 hours available should be sufficient of time for me to finish.
I was walking slower and slower, after 60km, my blister finally comes. I stopped. pinch and drain the liquid and move on. The return leg of Pasir Ris Park is bad, boring and difficult to focus. In the next stretch of Pasir Ris Drive 3 & Loyang Ave, I was very slow and passed by some walkers. At 70km, my pace slows down to 10-11 min/km.
The return leg of Changi Coastal Road was horrible. I was sleepy, tired and almost lost the spirit. I was so slow that I was passed by quite a few. I finally find my rhythm about 2 km before the end of Changi Coastal Road. I was doing 200-300m relaxed walk and 100m aggressive brisk walk. This has help me to regain my spirit.
By the time I got to 80km pitstop, the sun is shining bright. Luckily, there was wind in ECP during the morning and helps a lot. And the familiar ECP helps to get back the spirit. I made the final pitstop on ECP. In the last 10km, I try to skip any break and just continue. The last 4km was under the strong sun and tough. One runner that I passed has no water and I let him took some of mine. In the last 2km, I accelerate and passed a few runners. On the Marina Barrage, I dash for 500m and passed another half a dozen. I even run up the ramp to the top of the Barrage.
In total, I brisk walked 99.5km, dash the last 500m and finished 17 hr 8 min 48 s.
My timing at 84km was about 30 mins faster than my 2009 Sundown Ultra timing. I am happy with the result.
I want to thank the numerous supporter along the way. Many stay up throughout the night providing drinks, cheer and taking photos. The supporter really help us to maintain our spirit.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
5km run in Sundown roadshow
Participated in the Sundown Roadshow as part of the pacers to run with 100 registered runners. I was worried about the blister on my right foot as it was not healed completely. When I walk around in the office, I still have pain.
But after I put on the New Balance shoe and run the 5km, there is no pain! The blister just recovered fast enough to allow me to run the 5km. By the way, the new NB RC1300 is good. It is a racing flat with only 206g for a US 9.5 size. It is 25% lighter than the Asics Gelfeather!! Only disappointment is that it is in RED colour. My wife hates red colour. I need to make sure that it is well hidden away from her.
It has a very low heel profile (very good for walking) and have light weight design (e.g. light weight shoelace & insole).
But after I put on the New Balance shoe and run the 5km, there is no pain! The blister just recovered fast enough to allow me to run the 5km. By the way, the new NB RC1300 is good. It is a racing flat with only 206g for a US 9.5 size. It is 25% lighter than the Asics Gelfeather!! Only disappointment is that it is in RED colour. My wife hates red colour. I need to make sure that it is well hidden away from her.
It has a very low heel profile (very good for walking) and have light weight design (e.g. light weight shoelace & insole).
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
"Souvernir" of Twilight Ultra
After the 80km, got 6 blisters:
1. heel of left foot, liquid partly drained out. condition ok. Seems healing fast
2. heel of right foot (at the back end), blister bursted, condition ok.
3. heel of right foot (directly at the contact with ground). No significant liquid inside, just leave it alone. A little bit red inside. But walking ok.
4. Small toe of right foot, amazingly large blister even though I tape this small toe. Liquid drained out, seems recovering fast.
5. small patch of blister on right ball of foot. Very small, not much liquid in it. Didn't drain it, should recover in a few days
6. Blister between left foot ball of foot and 2nd toe. liquid partly drained. Still painful. Red colour underneath the skin. Still very painful when walking. May take a week or two to recover.
Other issues:
- calf are tight
- Numbness on left foot big toe + 2nd toe. Will take a month or two to recover. Does not hurt, just feel strange when wriggling the toes.
- some abrasion on both eye-bag. Put in cream overnight, feel much better today, should fully recover in two days.
Due to the left foot blister, walking with a little bit limb to reduce pressure on left foot. Hope to get back to normal in a few days.
1. heel of left foot, liquid partly drained out. condition ok. Seems healing fast
2. heel of right foot (at the back end), blister bursted, condition ok.
3. heel of right foot (directly at the contact with ground). No significant liquid inside, just leave it alone. A little bit red inside. But walking ok.
4. Small toe of right foot, amazingly large blister even though I tape this small toe. Liquid drained out, seems recovering fast.
5. small patch of blister on right ball of foot. Very small, not much liquid in it. Didn't drain it, should recover in a few days
6. Blister between left foot ball of foot and 2nd toe. liquid partly drained. Still painful. Red colour underneath the skin. Still very painful when walking. May take a week or two to recover.
Other issues:
- calf are tight
- Numbness on left foot big toe + 2nd toe. Will take a month or two to recover. Does not hurt, just feel strange when wriggling the toes.
- some abrasion on both eye-bag. Put in cream overnight, feel much better today, should fully recover in two days.
Due to the left foot blister, walking with a little bit limb to reduce pressure on left foot. Hope to get back to normal in a few days.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Twilight Ultra Challenge
The twilight ultra challenge is organised by sgrunners together with running guild. It is a 16 hours event that we go around a 5km stretch on the East Coast Park. You can do whatever distance you want.
My plan is walk from beginning to end. If able to maintain averaged 9:36 pace, I suppose can cover 100km for the 16 hours. It works great in the first 25km. The plan was to build up a buffer early on for the 2H of the race. I was able to maintain about 8:40 average pace and completed the first 25km at around 3 hr 40 mintues. Therefore, I have a 20 minute buffer created. Then, I have my usual struggle in the middle of it from 30km to 40km. There is hotspot on my left foot which force me to change my shoe which took out about 5 minutes. My back started to hurt and need to make frequent stretches. I tried my best to keep the average pace to be 9:36. At the 50km mark, the timing is 7 hr 50 minutes, meaning that it took 4 hr 10 mins for the 25km. The pace is slowly dropping back. While I can temporary boost my pace for 1-2km, I am not able to maintain a sub-9 min pace.
In comparison during Malacca 12 hr walk, other than the break & stretch, I was able to walk in sub-9 min pace.
The next 25km is even dragging. Blister form at around 60km on the left ball of the foot and I have to drain the liquid from my left foot blister at 65km which cost me 15 mins. Patch up with an extra cushion to avoid pressurizing the blister. I hang on for another 10km to complete 75km. But the timing is at 12 hr 55 mins, way off the time that I need for a 100km. I was sleepy and demoralized. I lay off for about 20mins before taking another 5km. I call it a day at around 7:15am in the morning. I could do another 5km or 7.5km. But don't want to put too much damage to the foot. A blister on ball of the foot can take a few weeks to heal completely.
After getting back home, I have a total of 5 blisters. Drain the liquid, patch it up. The one on the left ball of foot continue to hurt when I walk even at home.
I also have a strange situation. My salty sweat was causing real problem on both eyes. I have slight abrasion on both "eye-bag". I have to wash them every 2.5km from 50km onward. It does not happen before. Need to find out how to prevent it in the next round.
For the weight, I lost about 0.75kg. Think that my hydration plan is ok.
The drink & fruit are great. I appreciate that the volunteers are staying up late for us. A great practice to prepare for Sundown Ultra 100. Now, I need to think about mitigation action to come up with a feasible plan to complete Sundown Ultra within the 16 hr cut off time.
My plan is walk from beginning to end. If able to maintain averaged 9:36 pace, I suppose can cover 100km for the 16 hours. It works great in the first 25km. The plan was to build up a buffer early on for the 2H of the race. I was able to maintain about 8:40 average pace and completed the first 25km at around 3 hr 40 mintues. Therefore, I have a 20 minute buffer created. Then, I have my usual struggle in the middle of it from 30km to 40km. There is hotspot on my left foot which force me to change my shoe which took out about 5 minutes. My back started to hurt and need to make frequent stretches. I tried my best to keep the average pace to be 9:36. At the 50km mark, the timing is 7 hr 50 minutes, meaning that it took 4 hr 10 mins for the 25km. The pace is slowly dropping back. While I can temporary boost my pace for 1-2km, I am not able to maintain a sub-9 min pace.
In comparison during Malacca 12 hr walk, other than the break & stretch, I was able to walk in sub-9 min pace.
The next 25km is even dragging. Blister form at around 60km on the left ball of the foot and I have to drain the liquid from my left foot blister at 65km which cost me 15 mins. Patch up with an extra cushion to avoid pressurizing the blister. I hang on for another 10km to complete 75km. But the timing is at 12 hr 55 mins, way off the time that I need for a 100km. I was sleepy and demoralized. I lay off for about 20mins before taking another 5km. I call it a day at around 7:15am in the morning. I could do another 5km or 7.5km. But don't want to put too much damage to the foot. A blister on ball of the foot can take a few weeks to heal completely.
After getting back home, I have a total of 5 blisters. Drain the liquid, patch it up. The one on the left ball of foot continue to hurt when I walk even at home.
I also have a strange situation. My salty sweat was causing real problem on both eyes. I have slight abrasion on both "eye-bag". I have to wash them every 2.5km from 50km onward. It does not happen before. Need to find out how to prevent it in the next round.
For the weight, I lost about 0.75kg. Think that my hydration plan is ok.
The drink & fruit are great. I appreciate that the volunteers are staying up late for us. A great practice to prepare for Sundown Ultra 100. Now, I need to think about mitigation action to come up with a feasible plan to complete Sundown Ultra within the 16 hr cut off time.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Preparation for Twilight Ultra Challenge
Twilight Ultra Challenge is organised by sgrunners.com The rule is simple, for 16 hours, you can go as long as you want in a 10km loop. My personal target is 100km.
Below is what I have prepared:
Shoe : Asics Gelfeather (spare : Nike Katana)
singlet : SCSM 2005 singlet (spare : HK marathon t-shirt for wet weather)
pants : 2XU long compression tight
socks : Injinji toe sock
food : Natural valley Honey & Oats, F&N Alive Mixed nut bar, Gu chomps, salty cracker
Electrolyte : mainly depends on the heed supplied by organizer, plus Active Zero & Nuun
Blister prevention : Strappal tape, Leukoplast tape, vaseline
others:
Northface cap (for wet weather), Gamin 310xt + HRM, O2 racebelt + small pouch, 2 cups (for Bring-Your-Own-Bottle initiative), Tiger Balm muscle rub, small towel,
Below is what I have prepared:
Shoe : Asics Gelfeather (spare : Nike Katana)
singlet : SCSM 2005 singlet (spare : HK marathon t-shirt for wet weather)
pants : 2XU long compression tight
socks : Injinji toe sock
food : Natural valley Honey & Oats, F&N Alive Mixed nut bar, Gu chomps, salty cracker
Electrolyte : mainly depends on the heed supplied by organizer, plus Active Zero & Nuun
Blister prevention : Strappal tape, Leukoplast tape, vaseline
others:
Northface cap (for wet weather), Gamin 310xt + HRM, O2 racebelt + small pouch, 2 cups (for Bring-Your-Own-Bottle initiative), Tiger Balm muscle rub, small towel,
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hong Kong Marathon
I collect my rack pack on 19-Feb. Content is very simple, just an event-tee, event brochure, a flyer, timing chip, baggage bag and the year of rabbit medal.
The weather in Hong Kong is cold, estimated to be 12 degree with rain. I did not bring any long sleeve clothes. I will use a HKU-100 t-shirt, 2XU long compression tight, running cap and ASICS gelfeather.
I prepared 4 packs of gel, a tiger palm rub and 4 capsules of electrolyte.
I am on the second group of full marathon which started at 6:45am. I was wearing a disposable raincoat at the starting line. The temperature feels ok. Just before it starts, there was some very very light drizzle. I am not sure what is the best "clothing" strategy. But anyway, just before the start, I took off the raincoat and dump it to the side.
In the first 3km, there is a light drizzle which was worrying cos I threw away my raincoat already! I was having my 80/20 run/walk in the first couple of km, keeping an average pace of 6:50. When arriving to the foot of the Stonecutter Bridge, I switch to brisk walk up the bridge. My 10km time is 1hr7mins which is typical. So, nothing unusual. But when I arrive the Tsing-Ma bridge, I feel different. Usually, I will start to get tire and can only have 50/50 run/walk. However, I feel very good, I continue my 80/20 run/walk without any issue. I realize that I will have my personal best. I continue to push and finish the half-way mark at 2hr21mins, a personal best for half marathon! There are several splits that I was running below 6:00 pace!
After passing the half-way point, I know I cannot keep the 80/20. I switch to more walking than running but still make stretches of 100-250m run. I was able to keep a good pace of averaged 8mins. Even after the cross-harbour tunnel, I still feel ok and able to run the downslopes at good pace.
After the last bridge, I try to switch to 100% run but the muscle cramp up. I mix brisk walk with short stretch of run and able to sprint on the last 100m. Overall chip time is 5:06:10 which is my personal best. It was 18 minutes faster than my previous best (2008 HK marathon 5:24:09).
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tempo Run with Diadora Fantasy
Have a tempo run wearing Diadora Fantasy. I bought it 3 years ago for Pose running. But did not actually shift to pose running. Now, try to use it as a minimalist running shoe. 3.3km run @ 5:30/km pace. I was more cautious at the beginning making sure that I don't heel strike. But it turns out my natural running gait of mid-foot strike is ok with the shoe. The shoe is very very light (the lightest among all my shoes).
Tempo Run by jjchsg at Garmin Connect - Details
Tempo Run by jjchsg at Garmin Connect - Details
Sunday, January 2, 2011
1st Run in 2011
Originally intended to join the Weekender's Run in Yishun, but oversleep (I am not using iPhone). When woke up, already 6:45am. Therefore, just have a run around nearby area.
Run a total of 10km with total time 1 hr 15 minutes. The first 4km are purely running and the last 6 km are run/walk mixed.
Garmin Connect
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