Saturday, October 22, 2016

Off-Season 2016 - No rest for the weary, just more fun and bizarre endurance events



It is that time of year again; the leaves are turning color, the grapes are ripening on the vine, school is back in session, the weather outside is crisp and clear -- autumn has always been my favorite season.  And just like last year it is my "off-season" - supposedly a time of rest and recovery - a time when the experts recommend taking it easy, focusing on lifting weights, honing technical skills, sleeping...  

But just like last year my off-season calendar is filled with another weird assortment of endurance events:





Adidas World Battle Run 

One of my key endurance events during my off-season.  OK, the event was all of maybe 80 meters in length so it was hardly an "endurance event" -- perhaps one would call it a sprint event.  And I am not entirely comfortable calling it a sprint event ---  essentially the World Battle Run was an Adidas marketing shoot in which us participants were "extras" who were compensated with the cool t-shirts, fancy food and drink and a funky, high-tech party atmosphere. 

We were also spurred to jump through the obstacles with the always-enticing motivation of free shoes for the winning team. My team of largely middle-aged, male distance runners seemed especially incentivized by prospect of winning shoes. During the long build-up to the obstacle event my team grew increasingly confident-- confidence bordering on swaggering cockiness.  In retrospect I am not sure what gave my team such confidence.


Personally I knew that I was not in my league at all (this was another "No Race for Old Men" where my advanced age and years of long-distance running and cycling combined to render me embarrassingly clumsy and inept on an obstacle course that rewarded quickness and finesse).


My teammates (though also slow-twitch athletes) were clearly more agile than me, but still no match for the teams made up of young, co-ed  basketball and rugby players.

I was a bit relieved that we were hopelessly in last place when my turn toward last leg of relay arrived.  Still I gamely stumbled through the various obstacles as best I could even as I am being totally overtaken as you can see in the adjacent picture.

At the end I absolutely exhausted, but primarily just relieved that I did not pull any muscles.  Despite my pitiful showing in the Battle Run I come away feeling determined to enter other obstacle type races in the future - one because of the sheer fun of it and two because of obvious need to diversify the type of exercise that I do.












Vietnam Mountain Marathon



I had sought to visit Sapa since hearing a fellow traveler's captivating description of climbing Mount Fanispan a half dozen years ago.  


So at last second I register for the Vietnam Mountain Marathon, an event of increasing popularity that attracts a variety of different runners from all over the world to a remote mountain setting, and that requires an overnight train and dangerous van ride along winding mountain roads to reach Sapa. 


It is my second "once in a lifetime race experience" in just over a single month (including Australia Worlds)


There is a lot to be said for recent race specific training the experts say.  But once again I have to rely on long-term muscle memory, memory that has faded with lack of any running on trails.  

I power though the first 7k uphill portion of the race and move into 4th place.  But it is pretty much all downhill for me after that (and as I am sure you already guessed:  I mean downhill both literally and metaphorically).

Apparently a winner never quits, and quitter never wins.  But by 9k I have totally given up on placing well in the Vietnam Mountain Marathon.  


I must have looked pretty bad.  At the 17k I stop briefly and immediately a kindly fellow runner came to a halt and asked if I am OK.  I was getting out my phone and I looked up to tell him "I just need to get a selfie"  The look of deep disapproval on his face when I tell him this is a bit disconcerting.  



But hey the terraced rice fields are simply stunning and when am ever going to be back on these remote trails? 



Afterwards I am asked about my "running race" by the wildly ebullient guest house staff, and I am not sure that it is technically accurate to call what I did a "running race" given I had walked or climbed more than 50% of the course so it wasn't technically a "run" and I did not consider myself to be racing anyone.   I was too busy enjoying the mountain scenery and the wildlife along the course


















Fruits Marathon 

I enjoy a triumphant podium finish  -- 

with a crowd of teammates cheering raucously and the race sponsors awarding me a huge box of grapes.


The run experience was great fun --- 

running through vineyards, 

dealing with a wicked sequence of hills,  

mixing it up with teammate Michael T 

and enjoying my last second kick finish....

..... the next morning I look on Strava results and compare Fruits Marathon with my results at last May's Fuji-Susono 10k and I notice that my time at  Fruits was 2 full minutes slower on a course with less than HALF the elevation gain....




.....but...


.....I will take any glory I can get these days (especially after my triathlon season) 

and moreover, look at all these grapes...  

2 comments:

Arnaud said...

Busy and fun off season indeed (You didn't even mentioned the Sapa 10k run the next day!) ... Back to chasing podium glory at Angkor!

TokyoRacer said...

Will you never do a normal race again?