Sunday 23 September 2012

Craze Ultra 2012

Back in the blog once again after being inactive for so long.

Craze Ultra 2012, was a marathon I registered this year in May. It was a mad decision as no training was done due to injury and laziness. However, I was still crazy enough to run the race without much preparation as I have pacers to help me out along the way. At first, I planned to run with bro Fu Ad but he didn't came to due to his ankle injury. Luckily, Ariffin went with me in the end.

Me and Ariffin at the left side
We didnt start off running much as I was afraid of wasting energy so we went off the first 3km walking. Until the 3km point (estimate), we decided to start running as we spent like 45 minutes just walking! We ran slowly and stopped sometimes, till the 12km mark. I was literally struggling already and my timing was real bad. (10km: 1h 45m due to frequent walks) I became serious after CP-1 and started jogging slowly towards CP-2 (Woodlands Waterfront). It was a hard process, as my further distance was 15km (2XU Compression Run) and not much preparation was done as I've mentioned.

Ariffin started with a technique to get me to run faster. The technique was '5 min rest, 10 min run'. He wanted me to run at his pace when we started running, and rest when he told me to do so. We tried this and it works surprisingly, but it came off when we hit 21km mark. (CP-2) The moment I reached CP-2, I drank 5 cups of isotonic (Hammer Heed). I regretted doing it as I experienced bloated stomach soon after. I couldn't run/jog properly for the next 30 minutes, so the best thing I could do is to rest. I lied down flat on the ground and relaxed before heading for the next 21km. It was tough mentally and physically.

After resting, I headed for the next 21km by slowly walking and jogging. At 25km mark, I met Hazel Goh as she was running and decided to accompany us along the way. I loved the way she talked to us and we also chatted with her along the way while jogging or walking. She was a generous lady, treated me figs (type of fruit that actually gives you energy) and even ice-cream and drink! I was surprised by her generosity and thanked her along the way. If the running community is full of people like her, it would be perfect. She gave me and Ariffin advices and share with us her journey such as running marathons or climbatons.

With Ariffin and Hazel help, I managed to complete 43km in 9hours and 27 minutes. It was a great run, although the timing was below average, I enjoyed with the atmosphere of the race and my buddies.

I will definitely be training up for future marathons or if possible, ultra-marathons.

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