Sometimes you may think you are mentally ready for a race but physically you are not. This is the case when I got DNFed in Sundown Ultra 100km (SDU100k) last Sunday. I wanted to do exactly what I did in Penang Bridge Marathon several times, I traveled to the race venue on the race day and arrived just several hours before the race starts. Unfortunately, marathon and ultra marathon are two different ball games. It was hard-learned lesson in SDU100k for me.
- Mistake no.1: I traveled on the race day. Travel to the country or town where the ultra race is going to be held at least a day before. If the traveling going to take more than two hours, it is better be there one day before.
- Mistake no.2: I didn't get enough rest. Ultra marathon is not a 5-hour race. You must get plenty of rest and it is advisable to change your sleeping pattern a bit, in case the race is going to be through out the night.
- Mistake no.3: Body was not in tiptop condition. Make sure you are injury free and in tip top condition. I had stomach discomfort during the race because I had very late lunch, but since I didn't target for podium, I thought I can just brush it off from my mind.
- Mistake no.4: I didn't pace properly. Pace yourself accordingly. My first 50km was ok, I managed to complete in 7:35 hours but I slept for nearly 2 hours in second loop. This is due to not enough rest and sleep; my legs just refused to run and I walked like a drunk driver all over the places. I almost hit incoming runners and trees along the way.
Actually, the race was not in my race plan until several months ago. Yumiko-san requested me to pace for her first ultra in SDU100k. Then I think why not because I remembered
Razif used to tell me, Sundown is a lot more easier compare to Ultra Craze because the race is at night and I don't have to endure the heat but I forgot the battle with sleep deprivation!
In reality, things could go wrong. We will fail at some points and only through fails we learn important lesson and not only to become a better runner but also a better person. Nonetheless, I completed an enjoyable 77km journey. I accepted and learnt how to deal with my failures and used that to my advantage. I hope to be fully recovered by the time for Berlin Marathon end of this month. Well done to all finishers and my running buddies in LeSabuns Ultra, FRC & Freedom FREAKS. By the way, Yumiko-san completed her first 100km ultra in 14 hours! ユミコちゃん、おめでとうございます。
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| Many good friends were there |
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| Didn't feel good since the beginning of the race |
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| I was in pain |
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| Food spread was great, night scenery was magnificent |
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| After running 77km, I decided to call it a day. |
Comments
I respect you even more bruder, you took your DNF like a man. You admitted your flaws and didn't give some lame excuses why you DNF and blame others.
Good luck for Berlin, and we will see you back in 2015 at SDU.
With all my heart i really wanted you to finish this SDU like Fazli, Dodo, Uncle Onn and Uncle Oliver. But god wanted you to feel humility first i guess.