MIDNIGHT!/ Monday, March 24, 2008
16march2008.
3 guys, 1 girl. 1 team.
Reporting time : 0730h
Flag off time : 0830h
By far, this race was the most tiring adventure race I'd ever participated in. It's a race where we didn't perform up to our expectation as well. Yet, we learnt, and created lasting experiences.
Flagigng off in the open field next to pasir ris mrt, we had to run to pasir ris park for the kayaking leg. We had a good start, being the first team to reach the station. 3 of us were actually familiar with the route, since it was similar to that of ATC. The kayaking segment was similar to that of ATC as well. We had to kayak in doubles and circle around the kelongs..eric & i partnered while ant and kenneth took the other kayak.
Completing the kayaking station, we next had to get to lorong halus. Again, we took almost the same route as ATC. The only difference would be that we consulted our street directory to make sure we were heading in the right direction. Reaching lorong halus, we were treated with redbull. Drinking that felt great, as it immediately replenished our thirst and perked up us. Probably the only downside would be the burps that resulted. And I got to hear ant's loud burp. HMM.
We had to look at the map and move to different checkpoints at lorong halus. I guess it can be classified as an orienteering activity? After finishing that activity , our next checkpointwas to proceed to bedok reservoir. It was in this segment for the race where we got lost. We wanted to take a shorter route, but ended up taking a much longer route as we missed a turn. It was quite a demoralising moment then. No motivation to run, so tiring to walk. Nonetheless, eric's army cheer kept us going. And yes, it's really interesting hearing ant cheer along with eric. Because we took such a long route, we took more than 2h travelling. But I do think we understood each other alot better in the 2h we walked together. And the learning point : to check our street directory more often. And perhaps to consider also if we should not follow the crowd but to run our own race.
Finally, we arrived at bedok reservoir, only to see the inter-varsity teams. Sobs. They started off so much later than us! Quickly, we finished our task (it was some rope element, like transfer) and moved on. Shortly after we set off from bedok reservoir towards Simei ITE, it started to pour. And there was this junction where we crossed and mr eric just had to scare me with the word bicycle. Hmmph.
At ITE Simei, we had the opportunity to rest, since there were alot of teams waiting and the abseiling station couldn't accommodate so many of us at one go. I saw mr tay at ITE Simei! There was so track and field event there, so mr tay was there as well. And while resting there, I realised that my foot had actually gotten more swollen. Sigh.
Later on, we had to walk from ITE Simei to tampines bike trail. Another long walk, but definitely shorter than the walk between pasir ris and bedok reservoir. By then, we didn't bother to run, but was simply enjoying the race, chatting along the way. The bike trail was quite interesting, since it was my first time there..it was a trail biking with a small portion of it slightly 'forested'.
From there, we had to cycle to pasir ris park again then run back to our checkpoint.
And that completes our race. We definitely took a long time to complete, but it had been a unique experience as well.
Thanks kaje. (:
Oh yes. NTU Sports Club had sponsered food from Old Chang Kee. It felt weird having that as breakfast, but we were definitely appreciating the food after the race. Our stomachs were already famished while travelling between pasir ris and bedok reservoir. I don't know how we managed to control our hunger until the end point.
Saw elaine, hazel and yeehan at the race too. (:
The race made me realise too, that I have to train even harder. We properly covered closed to half a marathon on foot, but it felt so much longer for me. And I'm aiming to complete a full marathon this year. That plan definitely won't materialise with my current fitness. :( Adding on to that is my foot injury. I don't know how long it'll take before it heals completely. I want to run!
Past. Present. Future
3/24/2008 11:03:00 PM <3
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