Monday, November 28, 2011

Asia adventure trip Part 1: The Race


         “Have you thought about becoming kitesurfing instructor and earn money by teaching? Kind of cool life right!” asked me Rune during our now rare games of Magic. “Hmmm…actually I haven’t” I replied and focused on the game. “You can run a kite school or a water sport centre” he added, but I was barely listening. When I got home the next day, I started thinking about what he said, then thinking a bit more and then I realized that it is an excellent idea. Some kind of backup plan J No surprise that in a week I booked a kitesurfing instructor course in Thailand and was going on another two week holiday! Sponsored almost entirely from the 2012 leave, but I was sure it was worth it.
          “Hmm…maybe I can search for some adventure races in the area too…once I’m going there” I though and started googling. “Wow…100km ultra trail marathon in Borneo…that’s close…never done anything like that…but fits the schedule nicely…so let’s do it!!” I decided and arranged for a small detour!
           The Most Beautiful Thing is Malaysia’s first 100k Ultra Trail Marathon. I would prefer to do a real adventure race, but getting team mates and all the logistics is a big hassle, so I chose this as an easy solution. Did I say easy? I was never even close to running 100 kilometers in a single go. I ran one classic marathon so far and completed 90 km hike in two day during Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. I felt like that I would probably get to the finish, but had no idea when and how! So on the beautiful Saturday morning, 5th of November, I stood on the start line along with 80 other ultra marathoners. Mount Kinabalu on the horizon, nice dirt track ahead…perfect day for some running J 5…4…3…2…1…GO!!! And I was off…
             My strategy was to forget about the others, run to finish and enjoy. And at the first kilometer it was exactly like that. I started with easy pace 10 km/h. Around 10km it started to be a bit hillier so I was walking up a lot and running down and flats. “Man…like that I will never get there…I have to start running up the mild slopes also” I decided and started slowly passing runners on uphill still keeping my pace. From the Coast to Coast race I learned how easily you can lose time on check points and transitions, so I was shortly stopping only at every second check point to refill water and was eating power bar every 1.5 hour while on the move.
            At around 30km I started to feel pain in my legs and felt tired. Fortunately the terrain changed to nice narrow trails through grass fields, forests and jungle using several hanging bridges to get across rivers, so I forgot about the pain and was enjoying the run still keeping my pace. But when I got out of jungle onto a wide gravel road along the river I was finished. My legs were in big pain and I couldn’t run. It was on 39 km, so I decided to rest and walk 2km to CP 4 and see what would happen next!
             “Do you know how many guys are in front of me?” I couldn’t resist and I asked the time keepers at CP4. “There is him” he pointed to a guy next to me I caught on the steep uphill to the village, “Then him” showed another guy just entering the CP, “And there is one more ahead. You are second!” he added. “What???” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But this information together with a bit of rest I got during the last 2k somehow gave me the power to push forward. And I started pushing hard.
        There was nothing much flat to really run, but I at least kind of stumbling/jumping downhill and was walking quickly up. Now I think it was my strength, because I was walking much faster up than many others. At CP 5 at 50km I had 5 minutes lead over my pursuers. I ran into the CP, signed up, grabbed a water bottle and was off again. I didn’t know that there was food available. That’s probably why I haven’t seen them ever again J
          Further and higher I was getting and narrower and more technical he trail was becoming, more strength, speed and fun I had!! Surprisingly the 15km jungle section around CP6 and 7 was the best part of the race. 20 centimeters wide trail cut into a steep grassy slope slowly winding up the valley, muddy path full of roots through a jungle bottom or a downhill slalom in a thick cover of trees and bushes wiped out all pains and refueled me with fresh energy. I was running fast and enjoying it with full breaths. Just wonderful feeling of complete freedom J
          There was food on CP6 and CP7 (they were both the same place), but I resisted a boiling stew or fresh pasta and only grabbed a couple of bananas and ran away. “What?? Am I running the wrong way?” asked me a guy going up to CP5 when I was heavily running back down to CP8, which was the same place as CP4. “No no. You are right. 5km to your checkpoint. I’m already running back!” I replied. “Aaaaha…OK…so you are first then?” he continued. “I’m second. There is one guy in front” I shouted back over my shoulder. Just before CP7, at CP6A, I knew that the leader was 15 minutes in front and because I didn’t pass him yet, so he had to be still somewhere ahead.
          “No no…I’m second” I told another girl going up. “Cannot be! I’m sure you are the first one coming down I’ve seen” she replied surely. I didn’t believe her much, but this information gave me an extra push to CP8 where I would find out the truth. What I didn’t know was that the leader was sitting at CP7 having his stew when I rushed in, signed up, grabbed a banana and was on the move again in less than one minute! So when on CP8 at 75km I was told that I’m the first, the time for the final step came! 25km to the title!
          Power bar, anticramp tablet and sack of electrolyte I was saving for the finish came in and I was running down the river to start the final uphill. I started walking up with a good spirit, but when curve after curve were passing I was slowly losing my enthusiasm. After 45 minutes I was finally on the top and was stumbling down to CP9. I thought that it was over. But when I saw the orange tapes pointing up another super steep climb, I started to break down. Walking up, whole legs in pain, swearing aloud…the climb was endless! After another 30 minutes I was KO. The climb claimed me! I wanted to run the nice flat gravel road on the ridge top, but I couldn’t. Eventually I made couple of quicker moves, but that was it. And when the night came, descent became same steep as the climb and when the route marking tapes spread to one every 300 meter bringing navigation uncertainty, I was down! Shouting into the night, wobbling slowly down on loose stones wanting to stop and rest in every abandoned hut along the way. I was desperate. But I never stopped moving no matter how dire I felt. I kept going. These were one of the longest 10km in my life. After the neverending 2 hours I made it to CP10 at 90km mark. I sat down, refilled water, had a coke, took a deep breath and set off for the last 10.
           The route became a bit flatter, so I managed to increase the speed by running some portions. I smelled the finish, but was thinking more and more about how far behind can the others be. I knew I was going slowly and I knew that if somebody catches me now I wouldn’t be able to keep up. That was what my brain was telling me. My body had a different opinion!
             When I reached a village school I knew was very close to the finish, I got stuck in the garden unable to find out where the trail went next. “Ahh…it’s you!” I heard from the back. I turned around and responded “Ahh…Anthony! You caught me at last”. What happened next was not my decision. It was a decision of my body which acted independently to my mind! “The trail goes to the left” one lady showed us a way and Anthony ran for it and I closely followed. The trail led into the jungle again and just when we got in the trail split. Anthony went right, but stopped because it was a dead end. I saw marking on the left and took the turn and lead. Once nobody was blocking the narrow trail I sprinted forward. And I was really sprinting. All pain vanished in second, senses sharpened and I was leaping through a night forest only with my tiny headlamp with all the speed I got. Roots, branches, boulders, streams or hanging bridge…nothing slowed me down. It was a real suicide run. One wrong step and all would have been lost! 
       After a kilometer the forest ended and I saw torches marking the way around some houses. “Come on!! BE HERE!!” I shouted still in full speed. And really…after another 500 meters I saw the arch. I jumped though the finish line with fist high in the air. Unbelievable!!! Not only that I made it to the finish, I won the race!!! Anthony took it easy and finished 7 minutes behind. Other guys came one hour later, but at that time I was almost on the way back to the hotel. 
        I don’t know if 13:47:30 is a good time for trail ultra. It was definitely tough, but when I woke up the next day after 10 hour sleep, went downstairs for breakfast and just saw one guy coming back from the finish after nearly 30 hours out there, I had to think that he was tougher! He didn’t give up. And that it is all about. Keep going and don’t give up. It’s worth it to be in the finish and the feeling pays for everything. And if you are good (or lucky) the prize pays for something too J

One week in a year

          One problem with all holiday is that they are never enough. Four weeks of leave a year is not much and apart from that Qatar is one of the countries with the least number of public holidays. We have only 7 days a year. So its five weeks a year! One week for small single days off, three week expedition holiday somewhere around the world and we have one week left do go home L
          Because with all this racing I just couldn’t fit everything I wanted into these five weeks, I cheated and took leave form the next year! But even then I after I came back from Coast to Coast I had only one week to spend with my parents, Jan and see my friends back home. Not enough, but I think we made the most of it!
         During summer there are many more possibilities what to do we went bouldering to Vesec, a small locality next to “my city” Liberec. I don’t have to tell you how badly I sucked after giving up climbing for more than a year, because there is really nowhere to climb in Qatar. And especially on razor sharp granite rock I basically didn’t finish a single boulder. Next time J
      Then we went for a day 80k bike ride around the house. Picturesque clouds on azure sky, green grass and forests and couple of nice single track descents reminded me how riding bike can be diverse and different!! Sliding silently through smooth forest paths, crossing streams and mud pools or climbing up the road between the fields cannot possibly be boring. In contrast to that, everyday riding through the same yellow dry flat wasteland, jumping over same stones everywhere you go and not having the need to shift gears more than twice per hour can be a bit dull. Here…we had a great time increased by stopping for a beer and ice cream on the way J
          When we started to miss driving the car again we went to Frankenjura, one of the most famous rock climbing areas in Europe. Jan was going there the whole summer, so he knew that without a 1000 page climbing guide with description of 10 000 routes, we would be lost! And it was well worth it, because we found many beautiful routes and had two days of excellent climbing. I still sucked, but a bit less than last time. Limestone, big holds and overhangs suits me definitely better J
          With couple of days I spent at home with my parents and having a drink with old friends from high school, there was soon only one day left. We, actually it was only me, wanted to go to the Czech highest mountain, where I still haven’t been!!! But because the forecast was bad we chose to go for a shorter hike onto another mountain Smrk, which was closer, lower and where we both haven’t been yet. The weather was not that bad so we enjoyed the hike a lot. Especially me, still being amazed by all the green color around me, hills with not a single flat place in the sight, rivers with waterfalls…just beautiful and exciting.
          It was nice to be back and I realized that I enjoyed it much more than in winter. I really don’t miss winter and snow in Qatar! So I’ll be definitely back next year…don’t know for how long…but a week for sure J