Punishment for 'Impersonating' Camel, Newton 25k 2010

(Picture from http://truthpraiseandhelp.wordpress.com/)

Initially, I was too lazy to type anything about Newton 25k 2010 as the reliable Yim and Foo, as usual, have reported about the race in their blog.  Check the race stories out at http://yimster.blogspot.com/ and http://lifeisxtragreat.blogspot.com/ for details.

However, there were a few dumb mistakes that I made during the run due to pure stupidity.  So I decided to type them out to remind myself for not being tripped by those simple rules of distance running.

Newton 25k 2010 taught me that distance running is just like investing in stock market and many aspects of life in general, that...
1.  history trend does not necessary represent the future;
2.  ...like a box of chocolate, you wouldn't know what you gonna get (even Forrest Gump knew that);
3.  you would be punished for being arrogance and by ignoring simple rules, no matter how prepared were you before.

Preparation

Prior to the race, I had not run any distance of more than 11k since 2/8 after twisting my ankle, that was almost 2 months of missing long run.  Luckily, thanks to Yim's call for a trial run, I decided to join Yim's group for a test of how badly my stamina has deterioted.  We ran the actual race route on 19/9, exactly one week before the race.  Yim wrote an article on the trial run at http://yimster.blogspot.com/2010/09/final-le-tour-de-kinrara.html.

I did not put much hope on the trial run as I knew that I would be suffering and there would be a lot of walkings.

To be exactly safe for the trial, I made sure that I had...
1.  ...adequate food the night before;
2.  ...adequate rest the night before;
3.  ...adequate water and isotonic drinks during the run.
You may asked.... AREN'T THESE SIMPLE NECESSITIES that everyone knows?!  Read on...

With these 3 basic necessities in store, despite the rolling hill and heat, I did not suffer as badly as I could imagine.  I did not walk that much.  I did not suffer from cramp at all.  No soreness after the run.  My timing was 3hr 19min... was happy.

My 'lauzy' confidence rose and that was proven to be harmful one week later.

Blunders on Judgement Day

With a successful trial run in beg, I was confident and relaxed in the run down to the race-day.  I did not pay much attention to the details... and mentally, un-prepared.

Came the race-day.  I made all the silly mistakes that violated the most common senses...

1.  I only had small amount of teppanyaki with rice for the very early dinner the day before... where was the energy I needed the day after?  I didn't bring my own energy gel even though I knew very well that it was a small race and most likely there would not be energy gel supply.

2.  I had less than 4 hours of sleep the night before... where was the rest that I needed?

3.  Lastly, I thought I was a CAMEL!...

Firstly, I skipped the 1st and the 3rd water station!  It was just about 8:00am in the morning when I reached the 3rd water station.  The sun was barely seen and the temperature was still cool.  So I thought.  I basically had just two small miserable cups of plain water for the first 15km.  That was proven punishing for the rest of my run.  The temperature took a F22-shot to baking hot from there on.  There were very little sheds along the route.  I was cooked.

Then, I did not go for isotonic drink for the earlier water stops!  By the time I was at the subsequent water stations, there was no more isotonic drink left.  I ran the whole race without isotonic.

Thirdly, I skipped all the petrol stations due to stubbornness.  I was hoping for miracle by even skipping the final Petronas.  See, petrol station for distance runner is like the oasis for camel in the desert.  I just didn't know why I skipped petrol station?  I had money with me.  It was pure stupidity that I skipped all the oasis along the route.

At the very last water stations, 3km from the finishing, there was no cup left!  In desperation, I had to follow a runner who got hold of a bottle of water... and we (four of us, total strangers to me) were passing the bottle around.

Worst, unlike the real camel, I did not bring my own hydration nor energy supplement!

The Punishments

I walked up all the hills from km-10 (Esso) onward.  I walked much more than before, much worse than my usual LSD practice.  I was left with thirst and cramp at the final 3km.  My heart was pumping very quickly and I was breathless even when I was just walking.  I sweat profusely.  I knew that all these were early signs of de-hydration!  I was forced to stop and handle my cramp on left calf even when I was just 100m from the finishing line.  Oh man, that was just a 25km race?!

After the run, I was having chill and headache until late afternoon.  The chill went away only after I forced myself to drink some hot coffee.  The headache was the first encounter.  I had never suffered from headache previously after long runs.  I believed that was the aftermath of de-hydration, the heat, and the hunger!

My resulting finishing time: 3hrs 14mins.  The timing was too slow considering I could do 3 loops of Taman Desa 7.72km route in less than 2:45.

Un-deserved Bonus

Anyway, I think God was kind enough to give me a medal, which was given out to the top 50% finisher of each category.  Was very lucky despite the poor and suffering run.  I knew I was the last few to get the medal as Steve (a runner from Foo's Seremban group) did not get a medal even though he was just a few persons after me.

The Lesson Learnt

With the precious medal handed from God printed with the portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, Newton will constantly remind me that the Laws of Physic are here to obey... man can never beat it...

If I have no time, or too lazy, to prepare for any race, all I need is to observe and prepare the obvious.  Do not rely on the past success!

All the races are unique.  That makes distance running interesting, doesn't it?!