Sabah Ultra TMBT 2012: My fourth 100km attempt since Sundown Ultra 2011 and successful finish.

When I first came back from 2012's Hong Kong Vibram 100km Ultra, Allan Lee asked me this question and said these things to me:

"Actually why are you doing all this for? I know alot of other people encourage and support you.  But your base is not good. You are not strong. We are real sports people. We know the truth."

Thereafter I learned that this whole group who call themselves the FRIM triathlon team, joined this year's Sabah Ultra TMBT 100km due to Allan's encouragement,  regardless of what their background was.  Then he roped me in. I even did a "presentation" in Ong's house, showing the pictures I took and the journey of finishing 2011's TMBT.  He even said to them, "You look at Cynthia like that also can finish leh"  That is in addition to some *&^%$# named Aleximon Lee who wrote in his facebook, that thanks to ME, everyone else knows that they can finish TMBT.   It was very degrading. It's like saying the most retarded person on earth can finish it.  So of course you can.  This is largely due to me having finished 2011's TMBT in 34 hours 41 mins and being third last overall.

Anyhow, I made a promise to myself that I will fix this shit. I will do a much better timing this year.

I spent a shitload of money on my gear.  Brand new and fifth hydration bag - the Salomon S-Lab 12. It cost me RM601 after a 30% discount. Without discount it would have been RM859.  I also bought another brand new and my fourth minimalist shoe - the Salomon S-Lab Sense.  That cost me RM708 after shipping and tax. I also bought a new headlamp, the Black Diamond Storm which was about RM180 after sharing the cost of shipping with Jeff.   My cheapest gear would be the trekking pole at SGD8 from Mustafa's, in Singapore.  Let's just say that I REALLY aimed to go all out and fix my timing this year. And I needed much better gear to help me get there. 

Then comes the training part.  I did a mixture of training in both FRIM and Kiara, as well as once in Nuang.  Though nothing would prepare me for what the elevation profile was going to be like for TMBT 2012.

The first 50km elevation profile.

The second 50km elevation profile. And they were not shitting you. If the picture showed it being that steep.  IT WAS THAT FREAKING STEEP. 

It was quite a funny flag off. We didn't even hear the count down. I was still chatting with Osbert, Amy, Trish, Jacky and Kee Seng when suddenly everyone started running.   Some guys were even still peeing in the bushes behind. HAH!? Started d weih!!! Hahahahaha!  That was hilarious.

Dev's picture of the start.

 

All 25k, 50k and 100k runners started together.

From the starting point at flag off, we needed to get up this short hill slope.  So there was a bit of a bottleneck there.   

Thereafter it was downhill all the way for about 900 meters. I tried to overtake as many people as I could before we hit another bottleneck.  

Karsten and I at the first 900 meters going down.  He was so chillaxed about the whole thing.  He came for a holiday.

After going down, we turned off the road and climbed up our very first hill.

This was JUST THE FIRST HILL! Holy macaroni. I was in super deep trouble.

Once we got over that hill, then it was running over sand, gravel, some rocks, a small bridge and a smaller plantation before we reached check point 1.

MOUNT KINABALU!

When I reached the first water station,  I was already like....Oh.... Shit....

thanks to Pui San for this pic!

I had taken about 1.5 hours for just that first 10k. Pui San, Agnes and some of the FRIM team gang were also there.  Chill... Breathe.. Breathe...

After signing in and refilling my bladder,  we headed up another slope.

thanks Pui San again for this pic!

And this... ladies and gentlemen was actually the beginning of a loop, if you noticed from the map, the 50k and 100k had to complete a loop right from the beginning of the map.   This was an interesting loop.   We ran through some more gravel and sand and more plantation.  But the most beautiful part is the cabbage plantation.

thanks Steve for this pic.  Yes.  I like to stick my tongue out. It shows you I was dying. And this was only the first loop.

 When you complete that loop and reached the next water station, it is actually what was the first water station, but now it doubles up as water station three.  There was another trunk with water in the plantation which became water station two.

After WS3, to get to WS4 which was actually the finishing point for the 25k's,  I bumped into the others like Peter Liew, Tommy, Claire Andrew, Zack and Felice.   At first I was with Peter and Tommy,  then I started to chase after Zack.   When Zack and I teamed up,  we passed Cally Ng.   And then I got confused.  Why were the 25k's still on our path?  They should have been done by now.  It's already 1 something in the afternoon. We were flagged off at 7.30am.  Anyhow, eventually when we got to WS4, then we realised that that was the actual finishing point for them.

WS4 is also the surprise spot check station.  Pamela asked to see our handphones and headlamp.  I showed her and I passed the check.  Signed in. Took water. Went off.

On the way to look for WS5 and WS6,  now THAT seemed like a long ass winding road.  By now it was hot in the afternoon. It was starting to take its toll on us.  I exclaimed out loud that if we think this first 50km is shitty,  the second 50km is what will kill us.  One of two random guys asked me, "So do you think you can finish?"  I felt challenged.  So I retorted, "YES! this is my FOURTH 100km race.  And my second TMBT.  I completed last year too. I will finish."    They didn't respond.  They just looked at each other and went off faster.

By the time we went into another trail, Zack had started running again. Steve told me to go off.   Claire Andrew and Hana Harun caught up to me and overtook Zack and I.    Leong Kwan Weng and ah Leong also snuck up from behind.   Now to reach checkpoint 50km seemed like a longggggg time.   It was. It was uphill all the way.  And that's 12km of uphill.   But I wanted to reach it before dark.   In the end I reached 50km by 5.45pm.  Which was a good headstart for me.  Considering last year, I only reached 50km about 8.30pm.

At CP50km,  is where we had the drop bag option, so I asked for my bag and changed my socks.  There, KC Leong came to me and advised me to do the next 50km with someone.  I showed him that I'm going with Zack.  Then Tony Quay came over to tell me that I must eat something.  I'm notorious for not eating during a race. I would eat the whole KL on non race days. But during a race I don't want to eat.  Stupid right? It's got alot to do with the fact that I don't want to have to puput in the middle of a race.  And there are no portaloos  in TMBT.   Anyhow, at this time, Zack told me we'll leave at 6.30pm together. I said okay. Although I really wanted to leave there and then.   But I had promised Zack.  So okay.  I changed my socks. Changed my singlet to a shirt.  Ate some rice, long beans and eggs. Put on my headlamps.  Then we set off.

By this time, Osbert was also ready to go.  So the three of us set off from check point 50km together to conquer the second half.    The pic below is of the three of us.  In happier times.  *hiak*hiak*   before we knew how bad it was going to be in the second half.

I first met Osbert in the HK Vibram 100k this year.  Zack and I did our first 100k together in Sundown Ultra last year.  The ultra world is really not that big in this region.  When you get out there, then YES it's HUGEEEEEEE.

We set off going downhill.  It was a large road of gravel. Felice and ah Leong came up from behind and overtook us.   Osbert looked at me and said thanks for walking with him.  I said thanks for accompanying me too.   All this time, Zack was ahead of both of us.  Then out of nowhere, we hit a slope.  It was 45 degrees.  I started to overtake Osbert and Zack.  I just kept going. Up up up.  I expected them both to catch up with me later. After all, Zack is someone who normally bombs downhill once we hit a downhill.  But that never happened.  I kept going on. Until WS6. By this time, I had also overtaken ah Leong and Felice.

Signed in again. Took water. Left.

From this moment on.  CYNTHIA GAN WEN CHIN was completely on her own. In the dark. And this was a much longer darkness alone than last year for the simple fact that I left Zack and Osbert at that first uphill slope after CP50k.   Felice had ah Leong.  Further in front was Esther but she had four guys with her. Claire had Hana.  Judy had Kevin. I was completely alone.  Which was actually fine by me as I was in a really competitive mood.  I didn't want to talk.  I was gunning for time. I had set a target of 24 hours for myself.   To me, if I can do this route in 24 hours, then I have shot at that damn trophy in next year's HK Vibram Ultra.

So I trudged off alone. It was abit of a cat and mouse game between me and the rest. We'd catch each other. We'd leave each other. We'd catch each other again.  But nobody was saying Hi and talking each other.  It was a mind game.  I'm trying to beat you. You're trying to beat me. Even when we couldn't see who the hell is who in the pitch black darkness!  That Sept 15 night was the new moon phase.  Which meant that the moon wasn't out that night. If you didn't have your headlamp on, you're skrewed.  If your headlamp died in the middle of it, you're also skrewed.  Yours truly didn't bring extra batteries in her pack.  I had left them in the drop bag. I had expected the fresh batteries I put in that morning to last me for 12 hours.  After all, the damn box said it can last 70 hours!!! Bloody liars.  By 4am, my headlamp was getting dim.

I had to switch to the lower beam mode and whenever it was a road, I had to walk in the middle just to be able to follow the white line.

There is light in this pic only because of the flash in my camera, you have absolutely NO IDEA how dark it was and I was risking alot by being alone.  But I'm a risk taker. I'd do it alone again no matter what.

Every time I could hear the dogs barking, I knew it meant someone is hot on my ass.  At one point, I even frantically wanted to switch off my blinkers and my headlamp.  So that I can be in stealth mode.  If they can't see that there is someone in front, they can't try to catch me and beat me, right? I could hide by the hill slope. Be at one with the hills.  They won't even know I was ever there.

But then the other thought came into my mind,  if one of them accidentally shone his or her light at me,  I could be accidentally scaring the shit out of them,  they trip, they roll down, and then I have to spend the next 20 mins calling for rescue and/or I have to accompany them until the finish line.

Not good. Don't want.  Skrew it.  Let them catch me now. I'll catch them back later if I can.

So one by one they caught up to me and left me.

I managed to trudge on in the dark ALONE for all that journey with that dimming headlamp, passing WS7, WS8, WS9, WS10 until WP11.  All the while praying that the headlamp lights will last.  With no MP3 player for music. With no one else to talk to. With no more other shadows to chase. Only after WP11 that the daylight broke.  YAY! I can see better now! And I just need to find CP12 and then I'm off to the finishing! Yahoo!  By that time, I also knew I won't hit my target of coming back by 7.30am.  I was in a lot of pain.  And from WP11 to the finishing, I had another 12.5k to go.     When I left WP11,  Claire and Hana also got up and left and chased after me.     All this while it was a cat and mouse game between me, Claire and Hana.     They would stop and rest at each WP/CP but I would come, sign, take water and go.

Just before we hit the gravel and trails again, I caught Bobby Tcc.  He asked me about my new shoes.  I snapped, "Don't Ask".   Later he would find out why.

Once we hit the trails and it is going down again, I knew I would lose to these people.  I can power up hills, but I just cannot run down.  And these guys can.  I can't run anymore. My blisters were hurting like hell.  That last portion to finishing was simply excruciating to say the least.  Yes.  Insisting on running in minimalist shoes when your feet is not ready to run in them for the whole 100k is suicide. Especially when the shoes were created for Killian Jornet.  And I'm no Killian Jornet.  I had originally wanted to pack a second shoe but it couldn't fit in my bag so I took the risk of doing the whole 100k in the Salomon Sense.  Suicide Suicide Suicide.

So the last 12.5k was gravel up, gravel down, gravel everywhere.  And soon Trish caught up to me, with two other guys.  She told me not to give up.  I was like, I won't be giving up lah. But I don't know how to withstand this pain until finishing.   I told them to go off ahead.  And when they left, I squatted down to pee.  In broad day light. I'm sorry. But if you see a pic of my fat ass online taken by some villager, please help me delete it.  I really couldn't care less anymore when I was in so much pain.  My malaysian forest was facing the other side anyway, so you'd be spared from that.  Anyhow we all know what each other has right. I lost count how many times I had to pee in the open by the road side like that. And every time I had to put my hands together and ask for permission from surrounding spirits to forgive me for soiling their territory.

When I finally reached the very last check point, CP12, we had to cross this thing and start going down some vegetation/plantation.

 

And all the while I kept looking out for an orange building, which denotes the school.  WHERE THE HELL IS THE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!?????

Finally after some time,  when I finally reached the foothill, then I saw the orange building.

DOESN'T THAT LOOK FREAKING FAR TO YOU?!  

Anyhow, I'm almost finishing already. Shut up. Suck it up. Trudge on.

It took what felt like forever to get out of more gravel, uphill into a slope and finally I was on the road side going into the Zen Garden village again.

this was the last mountain view we had from this race,  if you arrived here on this road at night, I'm not sure if you could see it though.

From the roadside to the finishing in the school, it's about another 1km.   But I've never been so glad to see a school in my life!!!

FINISHED!  YAY!

In the end my garmin showed that we were over-distanced by 1.39km.  With the amount of elevation we went through,  I guess it came to a point that I didn't care anymore.   And when you've done as much races as I have, you learn to take it all in stride.  Not enough water? Tahan loh.  Over distance? Tahan loh. Sakit? Tahan loh.    Cannot tahan?  Then don't race loh.

I finished this year's TMBT in an official timing of 26 hours 32 mins and 43 seconds. Alot better than last year's TMBT timing of 34 hours and 41 mins.  Last year I was ranked 10th overall in the women's 100k.  This year I only managed to go up to 9th spot despite an 8 hour improvement.  But it's okay. I'll take it.

I think what's on everybody's mind is this.  How different is this year's route compared to last year?  The only people who finished both this year and last year's 100k were Jiri, Cornelius, Mia, Felice, Jonas and I.   That I can remember off, anyway.

In my opinion,  last year's TMBT was more technical.  It definitely had less elevation but it contained the elements of an adventure race.   River crossings.  Dangerous hanging bridges.  Slippery bridges.  Narrow hill ridges cut into pineapple plantation.  Psychotic Miki camp inside Miki loop.   

This year's TMBT wasn't technical at all to me.  Sure our elevation profile was killer enough.  But the roads were wide. It was mostly sand, gravel and tar all the way.  Except for after CP12 when we went into someone's plantation backyard.

So if I were forced to compare for the common layman to understand and you're based in the Klang Valley,   I would say last year's TMBT route is abit like Kiara trails and Nuang with all the technical and narrow terrain. (see http://www.cyng-chasingdreams.blogspot.com/2011/11/sabah-ultra-2011-100km-trail-most.html)   This year's TMBT is abit like FRIM and the accompanying steroid hill in there.  WITH ALOT MORE steep elevation of course.   I would say alot of people did well in this year's TMBT as it was pure brute force of pounding up and down that steepness and those hills.    But don't get me wrong. Those WERE killer hills something like HK Vibram Ultra.

So did I really improve given that they are two different terrain and routes?  I don't know. I will never know.  Unless I go back and do last year's route on my own.  Nah...... no freaking way.

I have now achieved the 7 points needed to register for UTMB next year.  Will I actually register for it? I have until Dec to think about it.  If I haven't drowned in Ironman Western Australia on Dec 9th, then maybe..... just maybe... I will.    I don't know.  One step at a time, please.

Huge thanks to the SAC team for a well organised event.  I am looking forward to what is in store next year.  Thank you Aman, Claus, Rudy and Dev.  The four of you are sincerely the most SADISTIC race directors to say the least!!!

I will kill you guys later.... adios pistachios... till my next adventure...