IHG Road Relay 2016

It's great to be back to running and back to racing. However, I was pretty apprehensive about this race. For one, I knew there was a decent field of very strong runners. In addition, having only managed running for barely a month (after three months of pain - beyond physical), I wasn't at all confident of my fitness for this short races. This is quite self-explanatory but running well in short races necessitates short, fast training (on a background of aerobic fitness). The latter I may have semi-had, but the former was lacking.

At NTU's SRC, I finally got to meet my team of runners. I knew some from previous encounters, yet the majority of them were foreign (metaphorically). The relay involved two teams of five runners per hall. Team A (the team I was assigned to) was required to have three guys and two girls, while Team B had four guys and a single girl. All 18 halls would have one runner of each team running concurrently, totalling 36 runners on the field. The total time of both teams in each hall would then be calculated and the eventual rankings would be determined based on this. I was given the bib A3 as I was the third runner of Team A. The route would take runners around the track, before moving along a segment of Lien Ying Chow Drive, Nanyang Crescent, then around the track before relay handover. The estimated distance of the route was slightly past 2.2km.

At first glance (and not unexpectedly), I noted there were a sizeable number of potentially quick runners amongst different halls. While some were slightly more inconspicuous, others did seem to exude an aura suggesting they were speedy.

Just before flag off.

It wasn't long before the first 36 runners were flagged off. They sped off, possibly too quickly, as Russell and I noted that a sizeable number covered the first 200 in 30-35s~ (that is too fast, unless one intended to finish under 7min - which I believe no one did). We were rather concerned for Bert (A1), who was near the leaders. Nat (B1) adopted a more conservative approach and it probably served him well.

Before flag-off, Russell and I postulated that the first runner out of the track would be either very fast or very foolish. The first runner off the track was Andreas (IVP 15-16 Steeple Champion) so he was indeed very fast (and not foolish) as within a few minutes, he was the first one returning to the track and eventually completing the first round. Thereafter runners started stringing in. Before long, Nat returned and transited to Debra (B2), followed by Bert to Ziyu (A2). I started getting nervous.

It wasn't long before Debra returned and handed over to Russell (B3). Thereafter, Ziyu handed over to me and I was off. Probably a little quick at first, but nothing suicidal. I knew I needed to keep the initial pace modest early lest I found myself with too much reserve with too little distance left to expend it.

After a loop around the track, it was a short flight of stairs up before hitting the sheltered walkway towards Crescent Hall. En route, I passed a couple of runners - mostly female - and the occasional male. At this point of time, runners were spread out across the entire route, hence there was no difficulty overtaking.

Marshals were spread along the route, directing runners at appropriate turns. I was particularly adherent to all instructions, making sure that my run had no reason to be DQed. The first half of the route had a net downhill. Thereafter, it was a rather steep incline and it was there that I caught up with Russell. By then, I was pretty uncomfortable, but the race was nearly over. After some technical turns (including dodging of an elderly lady), I finally hit the track.

As I slowly caught up with some runners, I made the foolish decision to run on the inside lane (as we were running clockwise - this was the right side of the track). The mind certainly wasn't functioning too well and I found myself obstructed. Looking back, I certainly should have ran wide. However, it wasn't long before I finally entered the transition zone and handed over to Felicia (A4). Russell had managed to stick with me and handed over to Edwin (B4) at the same instance.

Almost. Credit to Merlin.

Right after transition. Credit to Merlin.

And we burn. Credit to Merlin.

"Gosh that was difficult," I exclaimed, my legs experiencing the burning sensation of short races I dearly missed. It was however, exhilarating that I managed a sub-8. Bearing in mind the technicalities of the route and the lack of speedwork appropriate for this distance (not to mention only recently returning after injury), I had initially intended to simply run a modest sub-9.

The race wasn't over however, as I watched the others race on. Eventually, Hart (B5) and Brandon (A5) started their own legs and finished their relay legs. Team A finished in 47:21 while Team B finished in 46:57 (these were timed by ourselves). The official time of our hall was 94:17, placing us 9th out of 18 halls. Not bad for a debut :)

The Team. Credit to Merlin.

Final standings. We beat Hall 9 by a mere second.

Strava data available here :)

To conclude the events of the morning came the awkward celebration of Nat's birthday. Thereafter, I caught a few words with Jian Jie, Andreas, Jaren and Guan Zhen, before a shower and departure from Pulau NTU.

Opportunity

Return

Return to God, return to running. Remember this.

The IT band injury took me out of pain-free running for a good three months (end Sept '15 till early Jan '16). Despite countless rehabilitation exercises or keeping off from physical activity, it seemed to persist.

Until one day, on the 3rd January 2016, I uttered a prayer during service in Bartley Christian Church. The intention was to put God first, put personal goals, dreams, even joys - behind. And then came recovery and restoration.

I choose to attribute my physical restoration to God's healing hand. It's been more than a month and my IT band hasn't flared at all since the miraculous, instantaneous recovery. As for my spiritual and emotional transformation towards surrender, it is in the process. Yet here I write this, lest I forget.

NUS Bizad Charity Run 2016

"Stick with me". They did so and they did it well. In fact, too well. They blindly followed me as I took a turn off course to avoid the finish.

(When I realised their error, I quickly redirected them back.)

Nonetheless, glad to have helped these Sec 1 and Sec 3 boys to their 45~min finish :)

Credit to Ming Ham.

But to Serve

What better way. Not to be served but to serve. Read more here.

The Leaders. Too quick for the camera.

Bijay. Eventual Ekiden Champion team.

The crowd begins. 3:45 pacers.

Our leader in the distance (in more ways than one).

Our leader in the distance (FM) now nearer.

The three 10km Wheelchair leaders.

May the force be with you all.

The Gurkhas. Ekiden Champions.

The first half-marathon finisher.

Dr Mok. Local Champion.

First lady.

10km leaders. Neck to neck.

Lexxus Tan - Singaporean Master's Champion.

The crowds.

They don't look too happy... they looked forced.

Rangers.

And finally a bit of us.

Hoping to finish what we started.

Before.

The real 'Before'.

After.

In action in the background. Credit to Runcapture.

Lest I forget - one moment that left me in deep respect.

Spot him. 5:40:24 was accepted by this sub 2:10 marathoner.

Singapore Duathlon 2015

I find it terribly difficult to resist sponsored race slots (I'm Singaporean after all(. Furthermore, multisport race entries don't come cheap in Singapore (approx $90ish for my category if I had registered by myself).

Yet, the past 2 months certainly weren't the way I expected them to be. Ever since the onset of my left IT Band syndrome, I severely limited running (not by choice), yet it seemed to be of no avail for awhile. Gradually, I decided rest alone may not be sufficient and specific rehabilitation may have been required. Thus far, I have had 3 months long of injuries this year that have deprived me of routine running. 1 month in the first half of this year, and 2 months (and counting) during this episode. 

Perhaps the sole advantage of my injury was that since I couldn't run, I dedicated much more time to bike and swim. As a duathlon was a run-bike-run, whereby the bike was going to take up a significant portion of my time, I supposed it increased my aptitude in that leg. Though of course, that was limited by my bike. Considering I wasn't willing to fork out a hefty $70 to rent a road bike, the next alternative was a $35 mountain bike (still not cheap...but acceptable considering I didn't pay for the race slot).

Well race day arrived and I was excited, yet a little nervous. Over the past 2 months, I had never ran the distance I was about to run today (supposed 5km + 2.5km). The intended purpose for participation was simply to complete and enjoy the experience of a multisport event, particularly since this would be my first bike race ever.

My wave (Sprint M20-39) was to start at 9.50am, therefore I arrived just before 9 since I wasn't able to collect my race pack during REPC. Bim from Metasport had previously informed me that if needed, I could conveniently collect the race pack on race day itself. However, it turned out that my bib number was no longer available. Though I did have to wait for Metasport to make some amendments, the volunteers were able to hand me another bib instead. 

Thereafter, I grabbed my mountain bike ($35 + $10 deposit). The lowest gear possible didn't seem as low as I would have liked (since I wanted to achieve a 90RPM cadence). In addition, the seat was a little lower than I wanted (in order to achieve a near-complete knee extension while paddling). Nonetheless, since flag-off time was approaching, I didn't bother much about it, though I guess the seat adjustment would later haunt me during the bike.

This would see me through the 18km and see me overtaken by countless road bikes.

Thereafter, I hurriedly entered the transition zone to mount my bike on the rack (there must have been hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bikes in my vicinity). Occasionally I would spot a mountain bike - some source of comfort. Subsequently, I entered the race pen.

There seemed to be barely 40 individuals in my wave. I lingered around the middle as I had planned to run at just under 5min/km for the first run leg. Promptly at 9.50am, we were flagged off. I made sure to start comfortably, but just increased the pace mildly after the crowd dispersed. I gradually started overtaking a good number of participants and understandably so as I realised the first km was covered in 4:17, way faster than intended. Yet hating to be an example of poor pacing, running a positive split wasn't much of an option for me so I persisted in the effort, consistently running splits of about 4:10-4:15 for the rest of the run leg. The leg was actually quite significantly shorter than the supposed 5km. Garmin suggests about 4.1km - inexcusably deficient.

Round 1 perhaps? Credit to FinisherPix.

Round 2? Credit to FinisherPix.

The bike was what I was looking forward to as it would be an entirely new experience. I hurried over to my bike, wore my helmet and started wheeling the bike over (on grass - not that easy) to the mounting area, or at least where I thought it was. Apparently I was headed in the wrong direction for awhile, thankfully a volunteer redirected and I extended my gratitude. I did see an individual mount his bike in the transition zone - an indication for disqualification (according to the rules) but volunteers were kind enough to just remind him about it. 

It felt great to begin cycling. I made the funny attempt to try to achieve as aerodynamic a position as I could on my wonderful mountain bike. Understandably that was going to look funny. Furthermore, as earlier mentioned, my seat wasn't particularly high, which just made the position more awkward. Yet I tried nonetheless in the belief that the position would marginally make cycling easier. It probably did, though it did have its set of repercussions.

I was quickly overtaken by bikes. Some zoomed past, some were more forgiving. The single thing in common about them was that all were in road bikes. Many bikers shouted "right" though I was quite certainly already along the double yellow lines (of the road). It was pretty fun cycling and pretty comfortable as well with the wind in my face and my Sworke shades (that prize came in useful!) from NVM 2015 protecting me from the wind and the sun (gosh it was a blazing hot day, thankfully much of the route was sheltered).

Credit to Running Shots.

Evoking a stare from a curious cyclist. Credit to Running Shots.

I was cycling splits of between 2:10-2:30 on the first lap (6km long), depending on elevation. After a while, it got rather funny being overtaken as it was just happening continuously. As much as it was against the rules of this duathlon, I tried my best to draft wherever possible (which happened only for seconds on a few occasions, since most people on their road bikes were considerably faster). I suppose what I did well was that I was pretty consistent with my aerobic effort, though along the second lap, I experienced tinges of a potential calf cramp. That was worrying, considering that the race wasn't in any way going to be over. To mitigate the risks of cramping, I marginally reduced my effort, consequently my splits started slowing by a few seconds per km. The bike leg started to feel long and I realised my back was starting to ache (must have been the attempts at an aero position). My consolation was that I started overtaking some mountain bikes a few road bikes. The third lap was uneventful but I did start to get rather thirsty - I didn't realise that hydration wasn't going to be available on the bike course.

Upon dismounting, I tried to rack my bike. Oops, wrong way around. I was utterly inexperienced yet that made me laugh. After all, I just wanted to experience the aspects of a multi-sport race. Subsequently, I began the run - which was torturous at first, as I was really concerned about getting a calf cramp. As a hydration station was available pretty early in the run (like 200m in), I grabbed a couple of drinks and stretched for a brief moment before resuming the run. Thankfully, it was just a 2.5km (nah - as I knew from the first run leg, it was gonna be barely past 2km) run. With the sensation of an imminent cramp dissipating, I was more able to realise the overwhelming heaviness in my steps. My cadence was pretty acceptable (I think), yet my legs just felt heavy. I was expecting that the run would be rather slow, yet it turns out the splits were pretty acceptable, though the first km (considering the brief break at the hydration point) came in at 4:36 (the next km was 4:14 - not too bad).

Gosh my legs. Credit to Running Shots.

Eventually, it was down the home stretch before a sharp left turn to the finish. A tape was waiting today (I suspect it ends up waiting for everyone) and my name was announced - pleasantly surprising. Unlike the Singapore Aquathlon 2015 where I felt I was within the top-10, I knew that I was nowhere near today. I guess Metasport offers the tape for many many individuals - which is definitely a nice gesture considering Finisherpix provides finish-line shots.

Tape. Credit to FinisherPix.

Thereafter, the timing chip was collected and a finisher medal handed out. Live results were available right after the event. Racing today was undeniably enjoyable considering it was my first bike race. I know I was severely handicapped on a mountain bike, yet participation was more than just merely a timing or position :)

Official results available that evening! Sub 1:15 :) 

Sweep the Shed

While the goal of every All Blacks player is to leave the national team shirt in a better place than when he got it, his goal is also to contribute to the legacy by doing his part to grow the game and keep the team progressing every single day. In order to do so, the players realize that you must remain humble, and that no one is too big or too famous to do the little things required each and every day to get better. You must eat right. You must sleep well. You must take care of yourself on and off the field. You must train hard. You must sacrifice your own goals for the greater good and a higher purpose.

The full article can be found here.