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Never in my wildest dreams. |
Well, as the year unfolded, I completed my first 84k and a full marathon. I registered for TMMT 100 only after I completed the 84k race in April and only started running on trails in early June after I bought the my first trail shoe (Hoka One One Challenger ATR 3). I had 2 months, 9 weekends and 61 days to prepare until the big race.
Training
The first month of training was during the fasting month of Ramadhan and the second month was during the festive raya season of Syawal. Both months posed their own challenges. Running in Ramadhan was limited to night runs on roads for mileage and two introductory trail runs at Bukit Puchong and Bukit Kiara. Then Raya came along and this was where all the bulk of the training was done in between stuffing your face in various types of traditional food and drinks served at weekend open houses.
On weekends, I would do LSD at Setia Alam Trail which was newly recced by Shah Alam Running Club (SARC). It has been my backyard playground ever since. Weeknights I would just do short road mileage of 10-15km to maintain fitness. I never considered myself a nature person but I know when you're running ultra marathons, other than the long distances, elevation is part of the game. So, two weeks before TMMT 100, I hiked up Mount Liang at Behrang, Perak, to get that pewai, barai, and bonk feel for the body which was needed to strengthen my body physically and mentally.
The TMMT 100
Took the shuttle bus service provided by the organiser from Putrajaya Sentral to Merapoh about RM120 for a return trip. Arrived in the wee hours on Friday, settled down in a school dorm at SMK Merapoh which was the race site for the event and tried to get as much sleep through the night. Carbo loaded the next morning and throughout the day. Race kit collection and mandatory items checked in the afternoon at the race expo held at the school hall. A little nap in the evening before the flag-off for the 100 km category at 9 p.m.
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Mandatory items check. |
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With Amir, your girls favorite race director. |
Never in my wildest dreams that I would toe the starting line of a 100k ultra marathon. I was nervous and excited at the same time. All the training and preparation leading up to this moment. It was time to lay everything out there. As we started off, leaving behind the commotion of the starting line and into the darkness of the night, the course took us through sections of jungle, palm oil plantation, rubber plantation and kampung roads. The first half of the course I was feeling strong, kept running and only started walking on climbs just to save some energy on the legs.
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With Acang and Faiz at the starting line before flag off. |
Finally the time that I have been waiting for the entire race, the river section at KM 42. We had to wade along almost 3 km river stretch. You wouldn't want to go in alone as the still water at certain sections gave ideas of what could be lurking in it. At the time I was with Faiz, Halim, Ammar and another runner. No other runners were in sight in front or behind us. At first it was fun, then it was as though it was going on forever as my legs were getting tired and heavy.
I reached CP6 drop bag which was at KM60 about 6 a.m. It was held in front of a masjid so it was convenient for the muslim runners to pray Subuh. I changed into a fresh top and a dry pair of socks. Ate what I had packed in the drop bag which were chocolate bars I bought at the race booth. A long toilet break which I off loaded a ton of shit from the carbo loading I did yesterday. I had spent longer than I had planned to. I was on my way about 7 a.m where it was already day time.
By this time, there were more runners on track from the 70k and 35k categories. I started having blisters between my toes and the bottom of my feet. It was hot and sunny throughout the day. Fast forward to the last 10 km of the race which was on road all the way towards the finish line during the hottest part of the day around noon. From here on, I was running with Ecah which was aiming for a top 10 finish for 70k category (she finished with 8th place). I passed by Ammar and Halim where they were walking. Then towards the end, I saw Faiz who was ahead walking. He told me to finish together and we crossed the finish line together for our very first 100km finish.
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Clearly I'm not enjoying myself. |
I set a goal in the beginning of the year to run my first 100km and I did it. I had a plan and followed it step by step. The months of training, from night runs to morning runs, from roads to trails, from running solo to running together in a group. The journey to reach here has been long and hard. I wouldn't trade any of it. The journey was the whole story and finishing the race was the happy ending I sought. Big thank you to Faiz, Acang and SARC for helping me reach this goal. Last but not least, thank you to my fiance, Mira, for your love and support. Alhamdulillah.
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100 km aftermath. |
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With Acang and Faiz after the race. |
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Elevation chart and route statistic. |
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Earned. Not given. |
