The North Face 100 (50km Duo)

Today I must have experienced the most punishing race I have ever done. This is the first race that I suffered cramps along the way.

Although my team mate and I only participated in the 50 km Duo, which meant that both of us ran 25 km simultaneously, the route was very challenging.

Most of the races I participated were road races, this was the first trail race that I experienced. The race started from MacRitchie Reservoir and took us all the way up to Bukit Timah Hill and the U-Turn point was the summit of the hill! Climbing up the hill was sheer torture and coming down wasn't easy too. This was where I suffered cramps. I guess my legs were not used to trail running.

Both my team mate and I completed the race in high spirits! We completed the race in 3 hr 16 min. We actually came in 74th position out of 277 teams! Not too shabby at all!

I must say the another thing that impressed me of this race was the post race buffet spread. There was unlimited supply of Subway sandwiches, cookies and even fruit cocktail. Not bad at all!

Of course I cannot end this blog entry without acknowledging a gift from a dear friend (left) which made participating this race possible. It was the gift of a hydration pack. This is the first hydration pack that I have ever owned and this gift was made more special with the fact that it was a prize that my friend won from an adventure race. This was one gift money can't buy.

Next Race, RealRun 2009!

My Running Equipment

In this post, I will share some of the running equipment that I own and I find useful in enhancing my enjoyment in running.

SHOES

The most basic equipment for all runners would be a good pair of running shoes.

My shoes of choice would be ASICS Kayano (left). I have owned many versions of this shoe. Ranging from Kayano 13 to my current Kayano 15. The Kayano is a pair of running shoes with structured cushioning suitable for those who are flat footed and need shoes for over-pronation.

Like tires of a car, running shoes are subjected to tremendous wear and tear. To ensure proper cushioning and to prevent injuries, I change my pair of running shoes every 500 miles (around 800 km). This will work out to be a new pair of running shoes every 20 weeks (5 months) if I do a milage of 40 km a week.

Each pair of Kayano costs around $200. Therefore, a serious runner can expect to spend up to $600 dollars a year on running shoes alone.

I usually buy 2 pairs of identical shoes and rotate them (like car tires) on a weekly basis. This is to ensure that should anything untoward happen to a pair before race day, I will always have another pair as backup.

The Kayano is more of a "trainer". I am currently also trying out another pair of running shoe, ASICS DS Trainer 14 (left), which is more of a "racer". The DS Trainer is lighter than the Kayano 15, which is helpful for speed, but it has less cushioning compared to the Kayano. To me, this shoe is more suitable for shorter distance and faster races. However, I also have friends who use this pair to complete marathons. The DS Trainer is also good for fore-foot striking while the Kayano is good for rear-foot striking.

I might use the DS Trainer for the upcoming SAFRA Bay Run and Army Half Marathon 2009 to see if this is also good for longer distance races.

(Afternote: I have used the DS Trainer for the Army Half Marathon 2009. It worked well for me so long as I consciously use fore-foot striking in my running. The DS Trainer has better cushioning at the fore-foot section. For rear-foot strikers, I suggest sticking to the Kayano.)

KEEPING TIME, PACE AND MEASURING DISTANCE

Another equipment that is useful for runners would be the Nike+ Sports Band (left). It measures the distance as well as the pace of every run. Data can also be uploaded to the website to track your runs. I am not sure of how it works technically, but I find this equipment quite accurate. It is also relatively cheap, around $100 when my wife bought it for me.

However, if you would like something more sophisticated, you can always acquire the GARMIN Forerunner 405 (right). It is a GPS watch, coupled with a heart-rate monitor. It costs around $500. I find this equipment exceptionally useful as it gives me accurate measurement of distance covered using GPS technology and as I run, I am also told of the pace that I am keeping. It is like wearing a speedometer on one's wrist. This is very useful if one is trying to keep to a certain pace in order to achieve certain target race timing. This piece of equipment has certainly helped me achieve my race targets for shorter distance races as well as marathons. The next picture shows the readings on the face of the watch. It provides several fields of data: Time, Pace, Distance, Calories burned among other details. The data shown on the watch below was race details of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon I completed in June 2009.

The last piece of equipment might not rank high on many runners' must-have list, but this ranks high on my list of favorites.

RUNNING SHADES

My running shades of choice is the OAKLEY RADAR with polarized lens. This is a gift from my wife. It fits perfectly and there is a special coating on the lens that repels moisture. Nice! Of course I think it looks cool. Ha ha.