5 Lies You Believe About Ultra Marathons
Running in Ultra Marathon is definitely not easy, running a marathon itself is not easy, as people say respect the distance and I surely believe in that phrase. Here are 5 lies that you will hear from runners wanting to do Ultra
1. I can’t run an ultra yet—I’m not in my best shape.
I’ve seen some epic love handles and beer bellies cross the finish line at several ultras. And although not all runners are visibly out of shape, many do have a target area that is far from perfect—flabby bits or underdeveloped muscles. If you’re waiting to be in the best shape of your life, you will never run an ultra. (Remember there is always Fat Fit)
Running with extra weight is far from easy, whether it is bulky muscle weight or fat. But weight has almost no effect on your potential to cross the finish line. This finish line is about mental strength and raw determination. Don’t worry about achieving perfect fitness. The more you run ultras, the more your body will adapt to running ultras. Then before you know it, your body will be perfect for…running ultras
I myself is far from having those chiseled abs or a body close to model or godlike, I am just any regular Joe on the street.
2. If I’m running in the back of the pack, I’m in the wrong training group.
Many runners are embarrassed or ashamed to bring up the rear, to the point that they will switch training groups. But I’m not here to impress anyone—I’m here to get better, and I want to do it as fast as possible within my own time limits, In a race or any given race I am my own challenge.
Struggling to keep up with a strong group is how I’ve grown. Fast. I’ve picked up tips and invaluable knowledge that might have taken me years to learn otherwise, and it also keeps me extremely humble. I have ran with people faster and also I have run with people who are just picking up running.
Obviously there’s a limit—you don’t want people waiting forever for you to catch up. But your own common sense and/or pride will prevent you from hitting any extremes. I’m referring to runners who are only a few minutes behind the second-last person, assume the group is too fast for them, and leave.
I want people in front of me, driving me forward. I want to be friends with people who can kick my ass any day of the week, who are better trained, and have more experience. The rewards are far better in last place than in first. There is tremendous opportunity to advance. The day I’m the best runner is the day that I didn’t learn anything.
3. I’m too old to start running ultras.
Age in ultra running means grace, wisdom, and respect. You are admired and consulted for advice. If you watch an older ultra runner, there is a calm and carefree aura around them. It’s like they know every step of every trails, what’s underneath every rock, and the location of every bug.
Their sense of direction is inhumanly sharp, and you get the feeling that if you were to ditch them in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the world, they would run back and ring your doorbell in about a week. Other sports cut you off after a certain age. In this sport, you become a legend.
4. After I finish an ultra, everyone will admire and praise me.
The runners who give off a vibe of “Hey, look at me!” generally don’t stick with ultras. This is because if your goal is social acceptance and praise, there are much easier ways to get it.
When you run a marathon, all your non-running family and friends think you’re a superstar. They might meet you at the finish line, talk about you with pride, and tell you how awesome you are. Come on for crying out loud, why do people want social acceptance when running ultra, like I said in point 2.. we are our own challenge. I race myself to better my time and nothing more.
To me running an Ultra is more like a spiritual journey and pushing my mental ability, I tell my tri group buddies that running ultra is nothing but a few more clicks down the road, and yes they have all signed up for the TMBT 2013. All five of us will be running it and I am so glad.
5. It doesn’t appear that anyone else is struggling as much as I am. I must not belong.
The ultra distance is hard to get your mind around. That’s why people give ultra runners puzzled looks. But once you break down that wall, run your first ultra, run your second ultra, and then realize you’re hooked—all those lies you believed about yourself are exposed. And it’s easier to see yourself as you really are—strong, courageous, and able.
Well anyway Happy New Year again, This weekend bike and run for the first week of the year ! hope you are all having a blast
Train Hard, Race Harder
HomeTeamNS New Balance Real Run Race Pack Review
Singapore Runners will know that this weekend on the 21st, there will be three running event held concurrently Real Run by HomeTeamNS, Nike Run and the Passion North Run.
Guess which one I will be attending… DUH !!
Last year I also have attended this run as the organisers invited me over. It was a blast and I have done Real Run for 4 years in row, for me running Real Run is like a transition from Road to Trail minus the hard core tree roots and stuff.
Real Run has gravel and sand and road all thrown into the course. So I can tell you that if you are running a 50min 10k don’t expect it to be the same.
Here is my review on the Race Pack as usual
Stuff that is (erm) Recyclable
- Soleus 15% discount voucher
- New Balance 25% voucher
- Something that looked like a CONDOM BOX (YOSH !!!!) but then looking at it carefully it was a deck of cards on being a good Dad by DADS4Life.
- Some Citibank card form
- 100plus promotion , advert .. etc..etc..
Stuff That We can Use
- Jacob Biscuit
- some Muscular Balm (really
stinksmelled strong) - Rollerball pen that has a scroll like message in the centre
- whats a Pen to write on but a NOTEPAD , so thoughtful of them.
Well there you have it whats inside my REAL RUN goodie bag. (OH WAIT)
I was given a NB Shirt which I will adorn on that day, am not showing it now cause its not the official RealRun Tshirt.
Good luck all you runners and gimme a pat when you see me.
I am only running 10k cause of my injury.
The North Face 100
Last weekend was crazy,It was the week for Ironman World championship and the TNF100 race which was held on the 13th of October, surely I did not participated for Kona but I sure did run for the TNF100.
My blog post held a poll a week before to see if my readers would run if they were injured. So I was waiting for the result to see if I were to run for this race and the results were as below, Thank you all for voting
I was surprise that the “No” result jumped 20% in the last two days, but luckily it did not deter me from running, but if it was the majority, I would just be the official photographer on that day watching my training buddies run their trail run. So here I am at the starting line with the 25k runners
The amount of trail runners sure have increased over the years
Benny New Kicks (he got it only 3 days before) but hey its a Saucony TR Kinvara
We before the run, looking fresh and carrying the required water weight. 1.5l for 25km run. Just so you know I did not train at all or even run for over a month for this 25km so please do not laugh at my finishing timing.
I love the trails as it gives challenges and not just a straight monotonous road, trails enables us to concentrate on what is below our feet, if you switch off for 10 sec you surely gonna trip and fall. My injury was cause I was running at speed and a root was protruding from the ground and my feet his 90degrees and I heard a loud crack and it have not recovered ever since.
the 25k route was a little different from last year but it still had the same elements of torturing us through the hot sun with the open field every year pictured here, I call it the Energy Lab of Macritchie, If you do watch Ironman World Championship, you would know about the infamous Energy Lab where there is no cover from the sun and just plain open road but in this case open field.
(THE ENERGY LAB OF MACRITCHIE)
Well I notice that I was trying to catch up at KM12 if you look at the endomondo map carefully, It was the fastest lap of the day, I told my self if only I could just do a negative split, but it never happened.
Nevertheless we all finished in good time (except for me) but I do not feel disheartened cause it was just 30min slower than last year.
No doubt my 100km races have all been shelved, I will still press on and start my clocking my mileage once my foot is healed. So far its 80% healed. Can’t wait to pound the street again (trails included)
Special shout out to Jayve for winning 3rd Place in her category.of the TNF15k Awesome much … see ya in the trails.
(Pic of J. taken from her FB page)
Till next year again. I have rounded the boys to participate the 50km and I hope they will do it.
If you want to know your results please visit http://www.digitalracesolutions.com.sg/results/northface100_2012/index.html
or just wanting to browse for hot bods and hot babes in trail gears do check out the TNF Facebook page
Do you train with Music ?
This post came about cause I saw @runfairyrun recent blog post on her Salomon X-trail run. One of her picture shows her running with headphones on.
There is even a certain rule amongst serious runner saying that music and running doesn’t mix, it is what separates the runners and the joggers, and it’s why some Marathon races ban music devices
I would say that using music in my training helps but come race day, the headphones stays in the car cause I still need it to calm my nerves, not that I am going to be doing a 2:20 Marathon but it helps.
An athlete or exerciser whose goal during warm-up is elevating the heart rate to 120 beats per minute should select accompanying music that has a tempo in the range of 80–130 beats per minute. Successive tracks should create a gradual rise in music tempo to match the intended gradual increase in heart rate. Moreover, segments of music can be tailored to various components of training, so that, for example, work time and recovery time are punctuated by music that is alternately fast and loud or slow and soft
One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. – Bob Marley
I have tracks for slow runs, speedworks, tempo runs, LSD and emotional runs (don’t ask what that means) . I have a whole arsenal of Mp3 players but today I usually run with my Blackberry cause I have this EndoMondo app install where it tracks my position, speed and timing average. I have to say its pretty cool cause its bundle in with a player in that app. Will do another review on that software some time soon.
The Columbus Marathon site came out with this running track list which I think is pretty cool, they did a poll on Twitter and Facebook and the below music list was top favorites for most participants.
• Aerosmith – “Walk This Way”
• Bruce Springsteen – “Born To Run”
• Jay-Z – “Run This Town”
• Dixie Chicks – “Ready To Run”
• Flock of Seagulls – “I Ran”
• Katrina and the Waves – “Walking On Sunshine”
• The Proclaimers – “(I Would Walk) 500 Miles”
• Bruno Mars – “Runaway Baby”
• Van Halen – “Running With The Devil”
• Iron Maiden – “Run To The Hills”
• The Ventures – “Walk, Don’t Run”
• Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – “Nowhere to Run”
• The Bangles – “Walk Like An Egyptian”
Did you know that rocking out to music while you run/walk can increase your endurance by 15 % – Tip #9 of the Columbus Marathon
Wanna wish Good luck to all the participant of the Columbus Marathon happening this 21 October 2012
I wanna know your favourite track that you listen to before you go for your run, that is if you do your training with music.
Mines “Stronger by Kanye West”
Related articles
Gizmodo: Marathons Start Banning Music Players For ‘Safety’, ‘Fairness’
The NY Times: A marathon without music? Runners with headphones balk at policy
The North Face 100 Race Pack
The North Face 100® wants you to run further than you ever have in 2012!
(Pic courtesy of TheNorthFace100.com.sg)
Promoting the genuine spirit of exploration since its kick-start in 2008, The North Face 100® has become the most well-received and anticipated distance trail running series of seven Asia Pacific countries in its fifth year: Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, China, Australia, Singapore and Japan. Whether you are an aspiring trail running beginner or a seasoned racer looking for new challenges, unparalleled experience is offered in each competition of this region’s largest trail running series.
Break all boundaries and Never Stop ExploringTM.
| Singapore 13 Oct 2012 | |
| Other Asia-Pacific Country/Area | |
| Feb 03-05 | Thailand |
| Apr 15 | Taiwan |
| Apr 20-21 |
Philippines |
| May 12 | China |
| May 19-20 | Australia |
| May 19-21 | Ultra Trail Mt. Fuji |
| US Endurance Events | |
| May 05-06 | Bear Mountain, NY – Trail |
| Jun 02-03 | Washington DC – Trail |
| Sep 15-16 | Madison, WI – Trail |
| Oct 13-14 | Atlanta, GA – Trail |
| Nov 17 | Kansas City, MO – Road |
| Dec 01-02 | San Francisco, CA – Trail |
Race Pack Collection at Novena: Velocity Mall
As usual the race pack collection is held one week before the race, and as usual I will give my low down on the goodies given to participants. After my usual weekend swim I headed down to Novena at about 2pm hoping that there wont be any crowd and true enough there wasn’t any.
If you notice the registration staff is wearing the ultra bright neon green race t. I was asking the guy in the pic, lets swap T when he is done cause I wanted the neon green cause I do run a fair bit in the night and it would be very helpful for me. (the color reminds me of Saucony ViziPro)
This was the first time, the race map was printed full page on the race booklet, if you can see the person holding it. 100k, 50k, 25k and the 15k all clearly indicated in it. Not sure how accurate it would be.
So whats in the Bag you ask ?
- Menshealth Magazine
- Suunto brochures
- Active discount vouchers
- SFI Warehouse brochure
- TNF100 race directory
- TNF100 race course Map
Useful stuff
- Gu Chomps
- Active muscle rub
- Jacob “Original” biscuit
- Viartril-S 500 capsules
- 2 Toms Blister prevention
- SingGourmet “Ready Made Rendang Sauce” (not what I expect in a TNF100 race pack)
The only highlight of the race pack and saviour was the Running T and Race Bib, which I deem is pretty much decent.
Singapore Cold Storage Triathlon Post Race Review
The race is finally over, after skipping two run races, I finally did my triathlon after waiting for 4 weeks. That was how long it took my legs to feel better, Special shoutout to Team Triboys Ian Faria and his bro Chris for sending me this neat transition towel. Will be racing Escape from Alcatraz with them soon in the near future. If you wanna hook up for training or racing with the boys you can search Instragam hashtag or on twitter for #teamtriboys and you will definitely see them handsome hunks. Once again thanks boys and see you guys soon.
If you guys didn’t know what happened, lemme clue you in before you laugh at my miserable time, I was training for my “North Face 50k which is held in October” and my feet accidentally ran over a tree root, it angled 90degrees with a very loud crack and that was into my 4k out of my 15k trail run (I finished the whole 15k in pain if you are wondering) It all just went downhill after that. I had my feet X-ray and Doc cleared me, some how or rather the pain still persist till today. All I could train for this Tri event was swim and bike.
So kingdom come came and went. It was good sunny morning on last Saturday. Met with many of the boys before the swim felt a bit humid but its all in the fun. The swim leg got delayed
Swim Segment
Participant had to make two loop for the swim and so how did the swim went? it went something like this.. choppy sea water, got hit in the face on my first 100m with my goggles knocked off my face, water got into my eyes and it stings like mad… got grabbed, groped and whatever you can think of, but hey that is why they call it the “Washing Machine”, you don’t join a tri event to have silky smooth swimming pool water do ya? came out of the first loop and saw my watch for the first 750m, did a 16min but I nearly had a massive cramp when I was near to shore, I stop short of shore line and my legs couldn’t feel the ground, so I was curling my leg to feel ground and with that awkward leg position I nearly had a muscle pull on my calf, you know those massive super cramp. Did not want to put myself in danger and don’t think I can afford a big cramp to my calf on the second loop. I didn’t kick as much on the second lap and I swam cautiously and closely to the line just in case my leg cramps up. Swim time: 43min
Bike Segment
Bike leg is always fun, went into T1 and took my gel and first time I did not place my shoe clipped ready on my bike for fast transitioning as this was a two week old shoe, have not put enough mileage into them shoes yet. Bike loop was an insane six loop over ECP with many dangerous turns (saw a couple of people bleeding pretty badly and bandaged up) … Road Marshal was shouting like crazy saying DANGER .. BIG GROUP AHEAD GO SLOW (er… its a race.. GO SLOW??) well I do hope the revamp the bike segment next time for a better and safer riding race. I was looking at my bike meter and it went like 32 – 34avg that was all I wanted nothing more nothing less and before my last lap I will usually take in some carbs for the run segment and guess what, silly me had to drop my packet of gel on the road, It was a decision for me to pick it up or leave it, I left it (was it a poor decision? I don’t know) Bike Time: 1hr17min
Run Segment
Here comes the moment of truth, I told myself either I die running or I walked to the end in my run segment. went in T2, grabbed my headband put on my shoes, went out running in less than 2min and boy I could (NOT) run, after leaving the run out, massive cramps came into my thigh and I know for sure that without run training it will definitely kill me. Its not that this is my first race.. I never felt cramps this bad before, I practically walked and hop myself for the first 2km or so.. What was I thinking.. four weeks and not even one training on my run.
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines. – Richard M. Nixon
On the 3k mark, a familiar face came behind, tapped and passed me, It was Benny who was in one age group behind, he finally caught me in the run segment (all things going through my head now, thinking of stopping and quitting the race as its going to be a real pathetic race for sure) but I told my self #HTFU and keep going, and so I did.. yes the final run was terrible but I won’t let my head hang in shame. Yes it’s also the worst 10k time ever for me in my running career but I will not let it stop me. I will come back stronger (if my doc cleared me of any problems to my feet) Time: 1hr 17min
Well its the end of the race and I am glad all my buddies was here with me. Not that I am proud of the time, but I sure finished it.. if your wondering yes the pain in my leg still persist. I am heading for an MRI this week. I wont let it damper my mood for me in the upcoming 2013 races that I have signed up for.
PS: word of advice, train before you go for a race. Dont be like stupid me.
New Balance Real Run 2012
It is the New Balance Real Run 2012 and its back again. The HomeTeamNS-New Balance REAL Run 2012 will be held on 21 October 2012, at Changi Exhibition Centre, Aviation Park Road. If you have not participated in this event before, do let me explain why this event is call the REAL RUN.
This is not just a run on the road kinda event, this run has complexity and with a bit of fun, how fun is running on the road on and on for 42k ? well yeah its pretty fun but not as fun if there is a mix of trails and gravel and sand. That’s how this Real Run came about.
21km runners will be running on 2km trail + 1.5km Sand + 17.5km taxiway and road.
10km runners will be running on 2km trail + 1.5km Sand + 6.5km of taxiway and road
Last year winner came in a blazing 1hr 08min and I dont think you can even see him blaze by, check out the video and judge for yourself. “Insane Speed seriously”
So if you think you can beat last years winner, This is the Last call for registrations for the HomeTeamNS New Balance Real Run, the ultimate x-terrain challenge.
Those interested can sign up at the HomeTeamNS Real Run Prelude at Novena Square Atrium from 28 – 30 September 2012.
So what you waiting for ? for more information you can click here NEW BALANCE REAL RUN 2012 Registration
Registration Fees :
Distance 10km 21km
2011 Participants $40 $50
Public Rates $45 $55
This is the route map
A little sneak peak of what the runners are entitle to, looking forward to the bag
Please take note of the flag off timing
21km at 6:30am and 10km at 7am
Basic gears for Trail Running
Trail Gear galore, recently I went bonkers and bought 2 pairs of Trail shoes at a sale when knowing that I already have one in my collection of many shoes, lets just say the sale was too good to resist.
I started doing more trail running in preparation for my The North Face (TNF) 50km, this coming October, yeah.. to some ultra runners 50km may seem short for them, but this is the not a race for me, it is actually my training for the upcoming Hong Kong 100km in January.
Well if you are interested to run trails or go for a hike, here are some essential gears to get you started. (more…)
Unbreakable at Western State 100 mile endurance run.
Are you into Trail Running? Well if you are, you definitely heard of the 4 kings of Trail running, if not I have listed them below:
1) Killian Jornet
2) Hal Koerner
3) Geoff Roes
and my favourite
4) Anton Krupicka whom I got the honors to run with, when he was in Singapore a while back (read the post here)
and now imagine this, as (more…)
Special Force 200km
I know this is too late for most Ultra runners to know, but just to give you the low down on this remarkable event that is taking place. This would be to me be rated as one of the top crazy running events, because of the mileage coverage over the period of 5 days. this event is called the “Special Forces 200KM” will be held on from 28th April to 2nd May 2012.
Ok maybe not that gruesome because of the divided mileage over the 5 days. Still in total you would have been running for 200km, thats more than Leadvill100.
This is Malaysia’s first 200km staged extreme ultra marathon.
A 200 kilometer staged ultra trail marathon starting in (more…)
