MR-25 Elite Selection Trial 2016 (10km)

Agonising.

I had never felt so slow moving uphill. But perseverance through the pain was exactly what I needed.

I met Kasi before flag-off and chatted with some of the MR25 guys. Though this time trial was targeted for club members, it was open to the public to join in. I liked the idea of having company on this time trial as it meant I was more likely to produce a fast workout.

Before the trial on the trail. Credit to Chan Chai Hui.

My plan was to run a sub-45 as a conservative goal, since I had never raced this out and back route. I was also keeping an eye for the sub-43 that was the qualifying time for the Men's Open category. In addition, recognising the route, I knew a negative-split would be ideal as the return would be slightly less challenging than the outgoing course.

Upon flag off, the leaders (Mahendran, Thomas, Chuan Heng etc) went out fast and I tried to be cautious with the pacing. Nonetheless, in retrospect I should have ran a little slower. I passed a few runners, thereafter I ran alongside Suriya as another runner, Jun Wei passed us. I stuck with Suriya for a decent duration, though he eventually finished way ahead in a wonderfully paced run. I was feeling the discomfort pretty early into the race, not aided by the tiring 23~km run just two days ago.

I actually passed Suriya for a moment as we exited the trail onto the tarmac and towards Ranger Station. I could hear him breathing, a little more rapidly than me yet that was deceiving. As we manoeuvred the rocky portions past Ranger Station towards the U-turn, a gap started to form. Meanwhile, I saw the leaders returning. Thomas led, followed by Chuan Heng and a few others.

I made the U-turn at 21:15. I wasn't feeling comfortable at all. I suspected the sub-43 may be out of reach, though I recognised that the return leg of the route was slightly less challenging.

Nonetheless, my legs were challenged whenever we hit the slopes. On the flats, it felt fine, my breathing was reasonable (in my opinion). However, the uphills were agonising. I felt like I was slowing to a crawl (though a reasonably fast one, for a crawl). The descents helped me catch my breath, yet my downhill form certainly deserved some room for improvement.

I realised as the run progressed that though I was breathing pretty rapidly, I wasn't getting too tired. Yet the technicalities made it hard to speed up. In addition, the human barriers required some weaving around. I greatly appreciate the considerate individuals that kept to the left (though admittedly, not all did, either due to ignorance or indifference).

As we were about 1km out from the Finish (based on a rough estimate), I glance at my watch and noticed a high 38:XX. It was then that I realised the sub-43 goal was actually within reach. Driving my arms as I climbed the final ascent, it was time to speed up. Yet the intermittent crowds after the trail weren't helping.

Daylight. Credit to Chan Chai Hui.

I passed the canoe sheds with about a minute plus to spare. I was then pretty convinced all I needed to do was to keep on my feet, be careful with the downhill and the bridge and surely the sub-43 was in the bag.

After rounding the final bend. Credit to Sebastian Goh.

Indeed it was. 42:45. 6th overall.

Kasi finished his race in just above 47. Thomas led from start to finish in a time of 41:19. Suriya ran an amazing negative split, finishing second in 41:32. A few others broke 42 as well.

The first 10 finishers.

My takeaways would first be non-physiological, instead psychological. I still struggle with pushing myself hard as there is the dilemma of training versus performance. On one hand, I know that to obtain ideal physiological training stimulus, I can often run my races slower to improve and to recover adequately. Yet I also desire to occasionally work on my psychological tenacity while pushing beyond ideal physical stimulus. In my race and training schedule filled with spontaneity, it is difficult to determine when it is time to run to the red zone and when to run optimally.

Another point for improvement is my pacing on this route. Though I have negative split most flatter road races, this was disappointing. Despite deceiving halfway splits of 21:15/21:30, the second half was slightly easier. My perception of an ideal split would have been 21:25/21:00. 

Nonetheless, it was a good stimulus to cap off a pretty exhausting week. What's next - I shall see.

Strava data available here :)