and so the much anticipated race of the year (in my opinion) came and went. seriously, among all of my long list of races, i looked forward to this most.
2 words. mud rocks!!
they were not kidding when they promised a meaner and muddier race this year! meaner? maybe. muddier? most definitely. but let's talk chronology.
Saturday, 2nd September
After finding out that Stephanie Chok was giving a talk called Powering Up Your Adventure Races on saturday, i told my dad that we had to reach Awana by 3 pm. for my own reasons, Stephanie is still the sportswoman i respect most. i'm a big fan of her, and to miss a talk by her would be unacceptable. she spoke on what gears to wear, ways to warm up and stretch effectively, preparing physically and mentally and some other things. what i liked about her talk was she spoke very much from her own experience. everything was just so honest. i dont know. i could be biased. but i enjoyed her talk a lot. :)
Photo courtesy of KC
first person i met, in his unmistakable blue pacesetter polo tee, donning his unmistakable camera around his neck, was KC!! it lights me up when i see him. it means i get professionally taken photos! i saw Heidilee when he gave us our free powerbars. then i spotted Mr Goh Choon Aun during the talk. but the most surprising thing was when i met Cindy Ho who lives a few doors down the road! she joined in with a bunch of friends. her partner was also a guy, hence they're also in the mixed mild category as well. she said she was afraid she might have to carry her partner out coz he had an injured hand. trust me, you dont want an injured hand any more than an injured foot when it comes to trail running.
Isaiah told me that he decided to sign up for it last minute. haha funny boy. racing has become a job requirement i guess. all kinds of races.
we stayed in Theme Park Hotel, under a Lobo package. My parents went to watch Lobo at the Arena of Stars, while Keith, Kelvin and myself had a night out at the First World Plaza. Keith and I are crazy over the bumper cars. it's childish i know. Even Kelvin chided me, but fun, i believe, should not be compensated! :)
After preparing for the race, we had an early retirement. i, by 11pm, was pooped.
Race Day, 3rd September
Daddy dropped Kelvin and i off at the race site at 7.40 am. The first person i bumped into was Isaiah and partner and photographer. haha...Isaiah was sweet enough to bring me a Powergel. yea, i know, i have to stop swiping Powergels from him. even if he gets them for free. haha...:)
benny, isaiah, moi, kelvin
i snapped a couple of pics...somehow wasnt too keen on camwhoring this time around. checked in my bag and went for the Fitness First warm up. the Wild category flagged off at 8.30 am. As they gathered at the starting line, i saw Cecil who was Heidilee's partner. And i saw Takatoshi Iwata. all of which were doing the Mild. Iwata was in the mixed summore! die ler....
Photo courtesy of KC
The Mild categories were supposed to be flagged off by 8.35 am. but they decided to flag us off at 8.45 am because they were afraid we might ambush the Wild men and women. haha...
Flag off! started off slow, like i always do. started to pick up only when we hit the terrain. The trail was slippery. I took several steps by chance, just praying that i dont slip. we started off good!
the majority of the route was the same as last year's. it jogged my memory a bit, reminding me how i desperately tried to keep up with Keeran last year. i took a lot of sidelines which i found very effective in overtaking people...something Keeran taught me to do. haha..
jumping into pools of water was the best. the water was icy cold but adrenaline pumped even harder. i guess when you're really pounding on the dirt, you watch your steps so much you forget how tired you are. :)
fat, muddy bum
somwhere during the race, i spoke to some guys whom i overtook. out of oblivion he whips out a camera (which i wonder how he kept dry in those pools) and asks for a photo. i thought that was pretty hilarious. i tried looking for him at the ending so i could give him my email add to send the picture to, but to no avail.
i found the guys who took the pic!
somewhere towards the end, where the wild trail met the mild trail, i spotted a very familiar looking physique. turned out, it was Ronnie! haha...was quite surprised to see him. i also met Zoe and Rebecca Thomason. And the 2 Fitness First instructors who gave the warm up session. I forgot their names. All of them were doing the Wild. i suddenly found myself wishing that I did the wild too.
When we reached the obstacle course, i was pretty dead. trenches? not as easy as they look. slopes? even tougher. muddy pools of water? fun, but i almost lost a shoe. after the obstacles, Kelvin had this sudden burst of energy. he sprinted towards the finishing line, which i shoved my foot into my shoe and sprinted after him.
we came in 10th place. which i suppose isn't too bad. we did target top 10. if i'm not wrong, there were over 50 Mixed Mild teams. that makes us the top 20% :)
Trailblazing? gotta love it!
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