Despite lack of training (big time!), i managed a completion within cutoff. Geez, i didn't even know there was a midpoint cutoff at 27.7km mark.
The night before
- Had a pasta dinner at Pizza Hut. Not a big portion but nice enough.
- Packed 3 Nature Valley(NV) Chewy Bars that i bought from Brisbane, 2 NV Honey & Oat, some Natural Confectionery "Love Snakes" and some concentrated Berry Gatorade (both from B too!)
- Read the route map, just to be aware of the water points. However, blur me printed the one without the water points. Duh! Still, i made sure i roughly know how the route goes & returns. Little do i know this small detail was going to be a major complaint among a lot of participants.
- Hit the sack at 11pm
An hour prior to flag-off
Arranged to meet Serene at 7.15am. The start time was re-scheduled from 7.30am to 8am. Quite last minute (i didn't even know about it until i saw Ben's FB posting). Well, it didn't matter much to me since it meant i can sleep for half an hour more! :P But it made helluva difference to a group of M'sian runners who are going to catch a flight at about 3.45pm for another marathon at home! They have to finish within 6 hours! Possible only if you are a very conditioned trail runner under LOCAL heat. Tough! I thought.
At start line, there were more unfamiliar faces than familiar ones. My gang has kinda "retired" from local races and some were just not keen after being "bitten" once at this race.
Queued to weigh our bags. Altho it was mandatory to carry 1.5l of water, they didn't check the physical content. As long as the weight exceeds 1.5kg, it was okay to go. I had 2+ kg.
Said a few "hi"s and took a few pics. Before i know it, the whistle blew (or was it an air horn?).
From MR to BT
We ran up my favorite "sec-sch-cross-country-resting" stretch that overlooks the reservoir. This year's route was more or less the same as last year's. Only difference to me was the Ulu Sembawang PCN portion. I wasn't sure if the killer 10km inside Lor. Asrama is going to be part of the route again. Tried to the best of my ability to run as much as possible. Started walking 1km before Rifle Range. And yes, life is easier after NPark built a stairway on this upslope that used to turn muddy on wet weather days.
Exiting MR, we took Nangka Trail and arrived at BT carpark. At this point, i'm quite unhappy about myself. I know, for sure, that the race is taking us via BT's usual biking trail and i trained there so many times. I actually almost followed a racer & turned right towards Visitor Centre! Thankfully i saw some runners climbing that small ascent & quickly told him to head straight. I told myself to be focused & not get distracted by others.
After Dairy Farm, i can't recall how i got to this place. It's actually a road that divides the 2 forests. Could it be the Wallace something? Anyway, I saw a lot of runners & they told us to take it left and U-turn after the toilet. At this juncture, i was glad i'm not that far behind from the middle pack. It was a check point where all of us get "scanned" (and i only knew from Serene after the race that there is a barcode on our bib). I jokingly said to another fellow runner that it felt stupid to go through that gantry with no beeping sound. I was the ignoramus :P
From BT to Zhenghua to Ulu Sembawang PCN
Took the Belukar Trail to the oh-so-familiar-yet-dreadful Zhenghua vegetation area. Less than a month ago, i was here with Serene for AAC. Guessed that helped. It was almost the same route to Ulu Sembawang PCN, but more direct. Bumped into a few friends here...Kim Hong, Kai Wei. Oh ya! It was so embarrassing. KW raised his hand to say hi to me. Somehow i grabbed his hand while running past him, in a "yo brother" fashion. It must be the heat.
Instead of exiting the trail & crossing the lights over to Woodlands (where the Sports School is), we turned left. Ah! Now i know! Voila! We are inside Lor. Asrama! Hmmm, should i be happy? Well, i should :) From here, i followed the directional signs...quite brainlessly. Why bother? Don't think i will ever come in alone for training anyway :P
Lor. Asrama
The heat was usual. Hot. But last year was worse.
Just kept walking until a remark woke me up (thank God !). I was running/walking alongside this girl. She was complaining about some pain (ha...she sure isn't alone) and saying she didn't have enough time to make it to the cutoff at 27.7km. I exclaimed "huh?!" but immediately regained calmness when she said her garmin read 26.smtg km. We have about 15min left. I told her we can make it if we continue walking quickly.
Within 10min, we reached the checkpoint which was rather empty. Suddenly Dom appeared from behind & told me to hurry along. They were gonna cut everyone off at 1pm...12 minutes later. Phew...ok. At least i'm here. Wanted to top up my water but i reckon it's enough to last me til next CP i.e. out of Asrama back to ZH PCN. Then lo & behold! There's this hill which i later learnt it is named Hill 265. It seems daunting but it really isn't that tough. I like trekking, you see :p
On my way out, i bumped into a familiar face (but i didn't know his name). He seems to know me as a seasoned ultra-run participant since he introduced me as one to the runner beside him. What an irony! All of us are walking by now.
Just before exiting Lor. Asrama, someone from the shelter offered us stuff. It took me a few seconds to recognize him to be Tekko. I was so thankful as he handed me this sng bao. It was a plum & orange ICE COLD pack. It really perked me up!
Back into Zhenghua PCN
Was surprised to see Kelly sitting by the road, taking pictures as i cross the road back to the water point. Earlier on, she pulled out from the race due to an injury flare-up. Tot she had gone home already. A few other supporters cheered me on, citing another 17km to go. I told them i would complete even if i have to crawl (but i added a disclaimer - not if i faint halfway :P).
This stretch always seem soooooo long and the weather is always soooooo hot here :( Nearing the end of this dreadful part, a guy caught up with me and said "there's a tape on your bum". I nonchalantly replied "it's to mend a hole". He nodded and overtook me. Wonder who is more embarrassed? :P At this point, i had about less than 3 hours to complete 15km.
I tried very hard to keep that guy within my sight. Finally caught up at the end of the PCN towards BT. There lies this support desk just before the official water point. The folks offered me drinks which i politely declined at first. Then I heard the Sundown keyword - COLD towel! I remembered how that small icy hanky freshened me up at the 85th km. Reject no more! Then the cans of Redbull floating in the ice box were too tempting to resist. I asked for one & they gladly agreed. After thanking them, i hurried on. I knew time was catching up.
Back to BT
Was calculating the time in my mind as i plodded quickly. A boy RAN & overtook me. He chose the sun while i took the shaded biking trail. Just before the exit to Rifle Range, he turned back. Apparently he was unsure if he had taken the correct route. I confidently told him to turn left after the upslope. Afterall, it's the same return route as last year's. He said he didn't remember taking this path then and asked if we have got sufficient time. I replied positively - that is if he doesn't slack. Hmmm, was i referring to myself? :P
Along the Rifle Range Road, there was no one apart from the traffic warden. My worry was the monkeys. You see, i am holding the now-empty Redbull can in my hand. I imagine them attacking me so i started making loud sighs. Hopefully that camouflaged my fear. Hehehe.
MR again
Finally back onto MR grounds! Caught up with more runners here. I gave myself 20 minutes to clear MR outskirts in order to save the last hour for the main trail. Then, I was happy to see this veteran lady again! We were overtaking each other but i lost her for a long time after ZH. I pushed on to stay close but she was so consistent that i was off her heels after Ranger Station.
Told myself that i need to get another person to pace. Then i spotted this group of girls whom had overtaken me at the early kilometers. From then on, i didn't let them leave my sight. About 3 runners overtook me later. 1 girl came beside me & panted really loudly. I tried not to show my "what are you doing?" face & focused on my own breathing. She then sprinted, overtook me to join the girls in front. Apparently, her teammate was 1 of them & she was pacing me in order to reach them. Then about 0.5km away, this guy ran past me and said "Quick! Cut-off!". I recognized him cos he was taking pictures of runners along the way with his handphone. Sure takes a lot of effort!
I ran on & on, refusing to stop even though i was already on the boardwalk that will take me back to the finish line. I couldn't take it for granted that i have enough time. What if my watch was slower? It's better to push on than lose that 1 second.
Finally, i close in to the finishing line. In contrast to the past years, there were more people around to cheer me on! I responded with a fatigued but relieved smile. Then slowly but surely, i cross the finish mark - a contented runner :)
