finished Ultra marathon on Sunday. Met many old friends and new friends. It was really an enjoyable day.I had the luck of having Eddie to come to my house to fetch me in the morning at 6:15 am.. then we headed for Macritchie.After reaching, I went for my light warm up. Halfway I met my ex-coach, Alex. He came down to give me his support and to pass me my 2 new pairs of NIKE shoes. They were gorgeous. Airzoomskylon.. Its linked to the IPOD and could track the distance you run etc... I was so happy upon seeing him because had not met him for ages.
Eddie went to meet up with Pei Shan and Alber... the Botak! haah... and Eddie was mad that JD did not come.! ahha...
the race started off at 7 am .. with lots of participants. the number of participants were much more than last year. it was surprising. the weather was fine and good when we started off... and i took the number tag number 1045... as it went off, I took a light jog off... started to talk to friends and competitors haha...
actually the reason why i went was because- I love ultra marathons as they can make you lose weight... ahah!, I am a MR25 member to show the support, I went because of friends and also because it is a good way to pave for the new year! haah...
the first round was easy .. however, due to the slope training that i had previously. the thumping and pounding has inflicted a pain in my knee. the first round was still fine. after the second round, I was started to feel painful. Especially towards the downslopes or upslopes as well as steps... it was real pain...
for those who do not know, the ultra marathon starts from 7 am and will last till 7pm.. a 12 hour run.. participants are supposed to run round a 10.8km route and complete a minimum of 5 rounds to get a NIKE shirt with ultra marathon logo on it. It was really a nice rice.. for the endurance runners, it meant a real long run. for the beginners, it meant a test of their endurance. You need to have a lot of patience and mental power to go through the run.
After the second round, i continued. called JD on my third round to inform him that I was in pain. He suggested tat i should stop. but knowing me, I will never stop unless it was really untolerable. I tahan the pain and cruzzz through the 3rd and 4th round. I was lucky to have the support of Andrew- Da Ge as we all called him , to join me on my 5th round. He specially came down to run with me, after putting his new born baby to sleep! he ran with me in 2007 too.. and i was really grateful he came down. He made me pace my speed and had me to monitor my pace and see whether I was on time. WE had to walk several distances because my knee could not bend... I was limping when i was walking down steps and i could hardly bend when running up steps... can u imagine it... till now i dunno how i managed to pull through...
initially, Da Ge only wanted to run 1 round with me. in the end, he ran with me my 6th round too.. and we had sufficient time to run the 7th round. the 7th round seemed to be so fast... maybe because we already know the area well enough... after we exit the forest we reach the golf course then to a water point then up a slope then to ranger station then up another slope and then down the muddy ground to the board walk... steps and steps... up steps and then down steps and then up again... run straight and then reach the big golf course.. complete the golf course and then reach the upslopes again...cant really run there because of the numerous roots... and then up slope and then down a long slope to reach the fitness station and then up another 200m slope to the exit of the forest. this leads us to the highway and the second water point... a 2 km highway run back to the starting point and also the 3rd water point and we finish our 10.8km... aahaha i can still vividly remember the route...
Da Ge and I met Alber and Eddie on the 5th round we were running.They were running their 4th round because they took a rest after the 3rd round. Can you imagine 2 jokers running and talking nonsense throughout their run!!! when i met them, they were joking and smiling... were they doing warm up or were they running the Ultra!!! these 2 jokers... ahah Alber said "eh Sumiko, let me pull your 2 pig tails and then you drag me along la..."i said "you dare you try! I ask Jun De to drive his new car and knock you down!" wa hahaha... we were going crazy...
after finishing my 7th round, Da Ge stopped for the day . I did that in 10.5hours..not a very good time...if my knee was not hurting, i would definitely have done more. i wanted to do the 8th round.. i ran into the forest... and then after running for about 2 km, i decided that that was it.. too painful... to boring to run alone in the dark forest... the time was already 5 plus and thunder sounds were heard... i decided to make my way out of the forest... and before i made my way out... i took a photo of myself.. tired looking...
after completion, i realised I got 3rd... yup.. a good achievement afterall... compared to the pain i have gotten... really bad!
I had JD to be there at the end of my 7th round... was so shocked to see him there so early... But was real glad.. felt a sense of relieve....lucky he was there to help me hold my things and obviously and most importantly.. hold me la.. cause i can hardly walk properly!
the prizes were great!!! won 2 pairs of shoes... a pair of socks, a cap, a waist pouch, a water bottle... all from NIKE.... love it!!! woohoo!!
after that, i could not walk for 2 days .... had to hold onto JD's hand and needed his help everytime i sat down and stood up. knees were hurting and muscles were sore... went for swimming and laid off running for almost a week... lucky legs are recovering well now... good to go soon...
coach Guy gave me a leg massage yest at his Physio room and he mentioned that my leg muscles were so hard. He used lots of strength to loosen it and he ensured me that my knees were pain due to the hamstring muscle pain... lucky it was not meniscus prob... and he required me to go for another session of massage this Sunday afternoon after morning training... thanks coach... ! really thankful that you are back... my legs are grateful to you! so am i!
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