Razorback Run 2013 - At Long Last...

I have been excited over this run since a year ago (I ended up doing the Mirabella Mt Buller Run instead last year)... how time has flown! A year ago when I did Mt Buller I was still settling into Melbourne, & stressed about things like what the future held for me & my wife etc.. Planning a trip to the mountains meant incurring some cost which at that point wasn't financially sound given I was still jobless, but I knew it was necessary in order to replenish my soul to keep the fight going (& to remind myself what I'm fighting for!). Now as I look back a year on, I'm STILL stressed (haha) but mainly over stupider things like work, but certainly more settled (& fatter - thanks to the wife).

And so visiting the Alpines again for the Razorback Run was a long awaited personal treat for myself. A meaningful milestone. I couldn't wait to see for myself the scenic vista that I first had a glance of in the Razorback Run's online flyer from last year. I chose to do the Mt Buller run instead because I chickened out a bit after reading it was a self-supported run & there were very little pictures/info online on what to expect (website has improved a lot since). I was also not very well equipped gear-wise back then.

Anyway, let's dive right in..

Pre-planning/Pre-run briefing

The pre-run briefing & bib-collection was held the night before - I took the day off work in order to have a less stressful drive. We booked 2 nights accommodation at Snowline Motel because we referred to the website & the RD's event notes as to where the briefing was going to be held, but it was then changed to Hariettville Hotel eventually - so do pay attention to RD's email updates leading up to the event.

I believe there was also mention about gear-check during briefing (& so we & many others brought our gear) - but there was no gear-check after all (yes this is trivial I know but just to give you an idea that for this event info provided can change/inconsistent across website/email updates etc. - so once again just pay attention).

Run-briefing was casual & held in the hotel restaurant area with several runners having their dinner. Personally thought a projector should've been set up to talk through the route map visually (especially for people who has never been up the Alpines before). There was a lady who held up the map & asked several questions on the course & was clearly not feeling 100% confident on several points the RD mentioned about. And on hind-sight, the run did see several runners taking wrong turns etc..

pic courtesy of La Sportiva Mountain Series 13

Gear & Clothings

As repeatedly advised by the event info, the weather is prone to change from day-to-day for the Alpines, so best prepare for any type of weather. We packed clothings for both cold, windy & wet as well as hot & sunny. (We got sunny & wonderful weather on run-day but few days on, it was apparently pouring wet & cold & snowing up at Hotham!)

Gear wise, we prepared everything that was required of us in the mandatory kit list, and my UD vest was stuffed to the brim:

Easily few kilos in weight, it is good idea to train with your fully-loaded pack because it definitely made the run that much harder because we were not used to it. As for food - with just one aid-station (for our 42k), you will need plan & pack own food (& emergency food) accordingly.

Here was my spread.. hehe

Bungalow Spur (0-10k)

Runners were still trickling in 5 mins before 6am.. :)

The run began on time at 6am, the run/hike up Bungalow Spur was hard-going because we were of course in a run-event & were pushing to move as fast as we could. Not surprisingly this is the hardest part of the run. Your heart will be pumping & whatever nerves you have before the run will be gone within the first 10mins :)

Bungalow Spur - The Cross (10-11k)

Eventually of course - your hard work will pay off & you will see the beautiful sight of Federation Hut marking the end of the Bungalow Spur slog & the heavenly views would open up before your eyes!

Federation Hut.. 

Leaving Fed Hut & up towards Feathertop

The hills are friggin alive!!

This section will be gentle slopes, pretty runnable (if your legs will still take you) all the way to The Cross, where you will presented with a left turn (towards Mt Feathertop), and a right turn (or straight - towards the Razorback).

The Cross - Mt Feathertop (11-12k)

As you climb up towards Mt Feathertop, it gets increasingly treacherous for 2 reasons - the views get better, and the trails gets more technical.. as you admire the view & lose focus/concentration, you may trip/misplace footing - all of which is still OK if you don't plummet down the ravine that would be inches away from you on either side of the trail.. !!

One runner busted his knee very badly here.. don't take this section lightly!

What did I tell you about the 'killer' views.. 

Mt Feathertop awaits.. 

pic courtesy of Neo Samurai 

This section you will benefit if you have poles with you - helps with balance, footing, not so much uphill but definitely during the downhill section.

Razorback (13-23k) & Back (23-32k)

I'll just let the pictures do the talking.. :)

Looking back towards Feathertop from Diamantina Spur junction.. 

Heading fwd along the Razorback (this guy was going opp way)

Views continue to inspire.. 

Certain sections we were running right at the edge of the slope..
several runners tripped (I did multiple times) so stay focused!

Yakking to friendly walkers 

At the U-turn checkpoint Diamantina Hut (looking back at Razorback)
pic courtesy of La Sportiva Mountain Series 13

I paused at this section & watched top runners zip by.. 

The Razorback section had multiple undulating sections, but nothing too crazy. Certain sections you will run right at the edge of treacherous drops so caution required. Every time I tripped it was because I looked up to check out the views... once again poles would help with going faster on these technical trails - especially the descend. 

Bungalow Spur - Finishing (32-42k)

Pretty straightforward, this section is just 10k of pure pounding of the quads... & felt like it was going on forever. If you didn't train your downhills, you would be cursing a bit over this section. I was just ecstatic that my ITB injuries didn't flare up the entire descend!

We finally crossed the finishing line after 8:40 hours, our goal was under 9 hours and it was great we achieved it and had plenty of fun along the way. Didn't mind at all staying out there a bit longer given it was such a glorious day. You had to envy the walkers as it was definitely a day to slow down & soak in the views up in the Alpines.

Needless to say we'll be back to this region to run/hike/ski perhaps?... but as far as the run goes, what a day & weekend it has been, breath-taking views, gorgeous trails, beautiful weather, no ITB injuries, nutrition & hydration planning went well, loads of pictures taken.. couldn't have asked for more.

Final Thoughts:

1) Poles - very useful for this kinda run..
2) Nutrition - the trail mix prepared by vonsy works very well, kept my energy levels up!
3) UD vest - held up very well in full load, continues to impress!
4) We missed seeing familiar faces!
5) Run organisation was good on run-day, cut-off times were mentioned but weren't strictly enforced, slower-runners have to head towards the pub (where the dinner/presentation would be going on) instead of finishing point & record own time.. might want to take note of that
6) And yes by all means do sign up for this event!

Once again, thanks for reading folks! I leave you with this beautiful sunset at the top of Mount Hotham from the same evening :)

damn I love this place!

Lake Mountain Skyrun 2013 - Gum Tree Barks & Broken Branches!

So how was it?

Yea it was tough.
Warm sapping tough.
Warm sapping tough + long climbs!
Warm sapping tough + long climbs + semi-technical trails + trails littered with gum tree barks & broken branches (very easy to sprain your ankle if you're not careful!)

In fact, we heard one of the runners broke his/her ankle.. really horrible news. Tired legs going fast with such trails its almost dangerous (and if you're wearing sunnies - you'll certainly get caught). But then this is trail running.. runners should be cautioned or be mindful themselves. Especially once you get caught the first time, you'd want to be sensible & adjust your pace (I only took heed after multiple trips!) - I suppose for the more serious runners this will be even more difficult given they'll want to go fast..

Scenes at the start

While it wasn't windy or rainy, the warm weather was indeed another challenge we didn't anticipate too well. Running at 10am through mid-day & early afternoon, we ran through the max temp for the day.. and while we were constantly hydrating - we certainly seem to be sweating & losing salt faster than what we were putting in. Can't imagine what running the Outback Marathon would be like! Running with the wife we had tried to move fast but eventually the toughness of the sun + terrain caught up with us & we resorted to just a sustainable pace.

Interesting bits? 

The setting was certainly one we've never experienced before - the entire course was strewn in dried up trees! (Black saturday fires 2009). Picturesque in its own way. Friendly & supportive crew made our run easier too.. of course there's only so much dead branches one could be impressed with I suppose - eventually we were just pre-occupied with just heat & sore-legs :)

The friendly aid station staff offering their services.. (this was the first aid station at 17k mark)

Less impressive bits? Just the one.. :P

Pushing hard to complete - esp the last 10k - it was kinda disheartening the entire place was packed up (except the banner) when we finished... not because we were disappointed in our timing or effort or anything like that - it was more the feeling that we were left with when we crossed the finishing... no time-keeper, no clock, nobody from the organising team - only our friends (thanks Dion & Jon!) who came out to greet us etc. (And I heard Dion say they were gonna take down the banner as well until he told them there were runners still out there.....hmm)

Having said that the time-keeper & RD did come out to greet us shortly after but once again it was kinda sad that the time-keeper had to ask us what our finishing time was (and was about to write down a ridiculous time after mishearing us)... I'm sure the organisers have no intention to make us feel like that - but it did leave us feeling kinda small. Granted we're no elites - but a sense of completion is important to the slow(est) runners too. If the event was time-sensitive or if the event had expectations of standard of run - a cut-off time will help runners have realistic check on their timing.. I think telling a runner they didn't make the cut-off is much better than leaving a runner feeling they've been a drag...!

How's that for perspective from the slower end of the running world for a change? :)

Takeaways

Still absolutely proud of our efforts - pushing once again through sore ITBs, mental ruts, the sun, hydration challenges, tricky technical trails... it was a decent challenge for sure if that's what you're after. I suppose I would recommend doing the 34k (that's the actual distance btw) too because eventhough the last 10k is partially repeated route - running it the 2nd time at different time of day & in more fatigue disposition it does become a different experience. Be careful of the gum tree barks hiding broken branches for sure.. people with weak ankles need to take extra caution in these stretches.

Should be renamed as Gum Tree Barks Run!

wifey vs unrelenting sun.. 

Watch out for hydration if its going to be warm day.. this run is largely self-supported, having 2 aid stations - make sure you plan well, fill up all your bottles & bladders & store necessary amounts of jelly beans, m&ms etc. (& bring your own powergel & electrolytes coz there's none supplied)

That's all I have for you folks on Lake Mountain Skyrun 2013.. hope it gave you some insight to the run!

LOVE TRAILS & KEEP RUNNING!

Medibank Melbourne Marathon 2013 - Remembering The Journey

And what a journey it has been!

Running this year's Melb marathon was going to be my personal commemoration run.. my 1 year 2 months here in Melbourne has been a huge personal milestone & doing the Melbourne marathon was gonna be my way of patting myself on the back :)

So I didn't take long to decide when the left ITB was still not 100% the evening before when we went for a short run.. I was still gonna go for it - I was just gonna have to run (or crawl) through severe pain at worst. I knew it was ill-advised but hell.. I was planning to walk to the finish if I had to. The event was not gonna be just another run for me!

So 2 simple targets:

1) Just aim to finish if injury flares up

2) Sub 4:30 if injury doesn't flare up

Preparation

Not the most complete, and with the overhanging injury sustained since pre-SCC and made worse during SCC it was difficult. It wasn't depressing or anything, I knew I would still turn up but it'd be nice if I wasn't walking most of the 42.2km. Anyway, I did zero runs in the final taper week, and only the short 3k the evening before (where I felt the ITB still tight) - I rather the left leg get enough recovery. And made sure I didn't forget to pack the Nurofen the night before.. so in the end preparation wasn't about hitting target times anymore, it was preparation to run through pain!!

Race Day

We arrived early being first-timers, didn't know whether we'd get lost or anything. We lingered around the stadium & got round to the starting area after dropping our change bag. We didn't meet anyone we knew so we just lingered around with everyone else waiting to start. It was great weather, wasn't chilly or windy. Not much of an atmosphere without music or anything, just the emcees yakking away loudly. During a short warmup run, the ITB felt tender & without worrying about it too much I just tightened the ITB strap. As we counted down to 7am, I jammed the headphone into the ears, kissed my wife twice... and we were OFF..

0-30k

First 2-3k I wasn't moving well, the wifey had zoomed off & I was just sticking to a comfortable pace around 5:50. Gradually the old engine was warming up & I was pushing into the 5:30 zone.. held it up as best I could. And well, I didn't do too badly coz I lasted till around 30k!

Well, I wasn't going to be able to sustain it past 30k because the ITB was starting to remind me of its presence, and the rest of the muscle groups were all jumping into the bandwagon of pain. I was keeping pace with 2 senior ladies - who were running with small cadence but at an unrelenting pace. They could sustain their form so well it was clear their legs had plenty more mileage. I had to tap out. Theirs would've been the pace I would stick to & the running style I would've executed with.

Still I was happy I managed to sustain a 5:30 pace for 30k .. to me that's a PB in its own right.. :)

30-35k

The run had finally started.

I was of course hoping it would only start at 35k, but doing a 5:30 pace for 30k I have arrived early at the gates of pain. Every part of my leg was screaming for me to stop & rest. I wasn't moving right due to the injury, and it agitated the rest of the legs as I tried to adjust. My wife later told me I was running weird when she caught up with me at 32k thereabouts. I was indeed... I had to walk on several accounts during the 30-35k stretch and everytime I stopped it was quite a psychological beating as well..

I had to conjure the ultimate mental fortitude.

35-42k

The longest 3k took place between 35 to 38k, as expected. The rain had started to pour, whilst invigorating, it didn't help the poor legs one bit. I wasn't cramping which meant I was keeping the salt levels decent, but it was just a mix of sheer lethargy & pain.. the soggy shoes were now squishy & blisters were forming - and being overtaken by more & more people it was just sapping. Mentally, physically.. I was just spent.

No amount of angry motivational music from Eminem of Tupac was helping either.. my mind was already zoning out. The music wasn't registering anymore, they were just noise. Still - I wasn't hating the moment or anything.. I disliked the suffering of course, but thinking back - I loved the setting of it all.. the rain, the mental & physical anguish.. and my chance to once again, step up to the game.

I was down to my last power gel which I have been saving for 38k. When I finally hit 38k, in it went... and out came a mini 2nd wind..

39 & 40k arrived very quickly (thanks to the gel no doubt).. towards 41k was a gradual incline where I surprised myself that I could stay running.. though at this point it was all in the 6:00 region. The sight of MCG brought some tears no doubt (hidden by the raindrops) & I slowly opened up my stride as we approached the stadium..

As my crowning glory I overtook a senior runner whom I was 'racing' with in that final 300m in the stadium, and tried to maintain as much form as I could crossing the finishing line.

The wife & Jon had arrived 2mins earlier & it was so nice to see them there, all of us fresh from the onslaught with emotions still running high. We hobbled together, took photos & just feeling extremely proud of each other.. it was truly a great moment.

Post-Run

Notable memories include hobbling with the rest of Melbourne towards the changing area, while the crowd was expectedly 'city-style-aloof' you could sense eyes were darting around & small grins were forming coz everyone could see everyone else hobbling from one corner to another in the changing area. And you knew a great dialogue would be struck up if anyone initiated a congratulatory conversation :)

What else. Ah yes, the coffee from Coffee Club was good.. long wait though!

It was great to also have met up with Karen & Andrew & Sue O'Brien.. always an inspiration these folks.

Courtesy of Andrew O'Brien

Lessons Learnt

1) Music does help, volume should've been set bit louder towards the end when mind is blanking out.
2) Possibly those slow-release-gum/tabs would've helped in the 30-38k region.
3) Running with a bottle of electrolytes does help.. didn't feel any sign of cramps throughout

Final Thoughts

Extremely proud of myself. ahem. and the wife. Not just of the run of course, but the entire journey we've been through coming to Melbourne.. that's what the run was for anyway. For all that we've put ourselves  & our families through, that's what that little piece of medal represents.

So will I / we do it again? Not anytime soon I think.. ask us again in few years time! Enough bitumen for now, we're going back to the trails :D

A Painful & Beautiful Surf Coast Century 2013

The inspiring view at Moggs Creek circa 79k.. 

Best part of SCC? Making new friends & watching my wife vonsy having a blast :) 

Not the best part of SCC? My poor left thigh! 

And as much as I want to say I am, I am no 100k runner :) .. yet. And to be honest we had no plans to run the SCC but thanks to an invitation (thanks Jon!), the wife & I were part of relay teams - I did leg 3 & 4 and while I pretty much suffered most of leg 4, I have nobody to blame but myself & the lack of mileage & preparation. But no regrets of course... running long distances will always push the body to the limits in one way or another & it will punish. And it's this limit that I suppose all ultra-runners secretly hope to find themselves in - so that they can dig deep & conquer it! 

I do need to sort out the injured thigh though, and make sure the injury goes away for good. Many more runs to plan & train for.. 

The week leading to the run was a long week at work (which week isn't??) & I was just glad to outa the office & onto the road friday eve (I was still working during race briefing friday nite!!) LIFE. One day I will have it back! 

On race day, I was up at 4am to send the 100k crazies & leg-1 runner to the starting line, it was FREEZING! The moon was still up & it was great to see some old faces - one could certainly feel the buzz & everyone was shivering & dying to get started. When the runners finally started running, it was so cool to see the stream of headlamps dancing along the moon-lit beach.. :) 

moonlit beach.. 

Vonsy was doing leg 4 & we didn't really have to get going till about noon-time. It was good chance to catch up with rest too & we spent the morning with a hyper Jack Russell Archie who just wanted to play :) dogs are the best!

We made our way to the 50k mark in time for the transition from my strong-running team-mate who was doing leg-2. Shortly after the strike of mid-noon, I was OFF! 

Just before setting off for leg 3.. still smiling!

1k into the run & we had to do this ridiculous crawl under the bridge..!
totally unnecessary.. 

Leg 3 - 0k - 27k

I was thinking of splitting the 50k into 3 parts (read this 'strategy' somewhere).. first part was suppose to be easy, 2nd part feeling some pinch, and the final part an absolute crawl (I wasn't expecting 'absolute crawl' to really be that)

The first 20k I just took my time - but there were many climbs that even taking my time, and just walking up the slopes it was starting to sap my energy. I kept hydrated as much as possible as it was mid-afternoon & I knew I was sweating a lot. But tiredness was setting in fast. 

Anyway some shots of Leg 3:

The first 5-6k I believe.. 

8-9k (I think) - reminded me of TMBT!

A fellow runner was admiring the view when I arrived.. after exchanging pleasantries we did the tourist thing..
help take pics of each other!

Lady said the poor horse was getting scared with all these strange-looking humans running past her

Painkalac Dam.. weird name for dam!

Leg 3 done - I could already feel the pinch of the old left ITB injury coming back. I could not go downhill fast & it was frustrating. I had to be contented with just quick shuffles. I tried to stretch it out at the changeover to Leg 4, but I knew trouble was round the corner. Good thing I brought an ITB strap.. I saw a few more casualties of Leg 3 - I knew it was time to whip out the strap, dig deep for Leg 4 & aim to just complete.

Leg 4 - 27k to 50k

My memories of the last leg was.. a mix of pain & beauty. There I was at Moggs Creek staring at the beauty of the surf coastline & I was shuffling on for another 20k with a busted left thigh. It didn't help I missed a turn at some point & did an extra 1k..

Pardon my expression.. not my prettiest!

And again, there I was running along the dramatic high cliffs by the stunning coast & I could only shuffle on with a busted left thigh. There I was running along the long wide beach, crashing waves to my right, the fading light to my left.. & I had only my busted left thigh to accompany me.. ! (you can tell where I'm going with this, & what frustrated thoughts were going through my head at that point) but in all honesty - I was secretly relieved I was still moving..

A frozen smile & a blank stare spells P-A-I-N..
pic courtesy of supersportimages

I have never grit my teeth harder or told myself to toughen up more than I have done during this leg. I guess this was a mind-over-matter challenge I've never had to deal with before. Every km felt like forever.. the Garmin watch battery went flat on the 41k mark, and I was pretty much running blind - no idea how far I've gone, no idea how far I have to go.. all I could do was just to keep on shuffling right into darkness it was kinda pathetic!.. & yet I knew this was a chance to push both mind & body to the next level. A definite lesson I learnt was to really spend some time with the map & know what to expect at different sections of the course - especially the last part of the race when you're mentally exhausted & running in darkness (I nearly fell into a big hole on the beach!).

I did have time to wonder, between the winces of pain, what a beautiful picture it would've been if I could capture these headlamps moving by the coastline in the dark..

The final stretch. It was the prettiest sight - seeing blinking lights at the end of the beach.. surely the end was near. There still was a good few km to go at that point, and the blinking lights helped me focus. What I didn't expect to find out was that the person wearing blinking lights on her head was actually my wife! She had taken the initiative to make sure runners don't miss the final junction to the finishing line... :) what a star eh?

Cruising the final 50m, with my silly wife in tow, I high-fived all the little kids, did a little spin & raised my arms towards the finishing line. At long last & 7.5 hours later, the job was done. I was in pain & so tired.

Well, wouldn't it be nice if it was really 100k I did? :) 

Telling my story to my team-mates

Change of clothes & much stretching later.. finally could muster a smile

Lessons learnt:

1) Preparation coulda/shoulda been better - not enough mileage, blisters could've been avoided, map-study!
2) Injury - need to treat injuries properly ie. physio, sports massage..
3) Nutrition planning - not too shabby this time, perhaps need more slow-release foods instead of just relying on quick-fix gels

Will I do SCC again? Maybe?? Would be nice to experience the natural beauty of surf coast without the mix of injury & pain & see how that really is like.. if I do, I will need to take preparation more seriously & sign up for the 100k :) (Perhaps I'll just park this year's experience as the SCC taster-run eh?.. )

Thanks for reading folks!