What is your next 100km goal?
December 01, 2016
Today marks the end of my trip with my school ODAC. Its my first ever camping trip. I slept and carried my tent, i didnt bathe for 5 days. And i cooked out and ate small things. Plus, i walked and climbed up and down slopes. ALOT!
I didnt train for this, despite knowing that it is 100km in distance and will need to walk over 8 hours a day. So here are some of my reflections:
1. Know your body
The first day, first 30 minutes was the same feeling I had when I ran my 10kish run at Vail this year. No training and a sudden shock to the body. Everyone was walking really fast, no obstacles, and I could barely keep up.
By the end of the day, we had walked through sunset. In the dark, I struggled to keep my legs moving. The posterior semi-medial part of my knee hurts like crazy. And the muscles above my knee was starting to cramp. I figured I had pushed myself abit too much. I slept uncomfortably that night, not because it was cold, but my legs were uncomfortable sore.
Knowing your body helps you keep pace of how much to push. Throughout the next few days, I made sure I had my isotonic to keep me from cramping, and knew when to go slow and not chiong too much when my muscles were tired and giving way. As an athlete, knowing your body keeps you out of injuries, but also places you at a good balance of where to draw the line.
2. Mind over body
One of the students wore a shirt that said along the lines of:
When the pain kicks in, the mind gets stronger
This trek wasnt as easy as I thought. I could climb slopes, but to carry a 15kg or so backpack, I could barely walk. The packs rested on my hips and limited my movements, giving me some nasty lactic build up in my hip flexors. On the steepest, most incline hill, I climbed up the last. Every 5 steps I stopped to clear the lactic. It was alot for me to bear. Me, who does not like to rest on boulder circuits or fingerboard — rested while walking up those stairs. I kept telling myself that if I could do a 20kg pullup, I must walk with this 15kg load on my bag.
3. Together versus alone
The students mostly reflected about how it was good that the morale was high and everyone helped each other along. I on the other hand, liked it when I ran ahead, or walk far from the noise and chatter. I liked being alone to admire nature. Its like there are two kinds of people: those who run with headphones and those who run without. I am the latter, and I believe that I always will be. It is not that I do not like company, but I prefer the silence. I do need the company, but I am also fine if no one talks to me because I am too tired to talk anyways. Haha.
4. Again
Its nice to hear reflections about how this trip was awesome and it made an impression on each other. To me, this is one of the most physically challenging thing I have done over a span of a few days. Its on the same epicness as going to the north face cup in japan. Its crazy, but i will do it again. Ive been outdoors to climb, trekked to boulders and peed in the bushes. But both has allowed me to see the beauty of the world from sunrise to sunset. And that is what keeps me wanting more and more. Its not about who I am anymore, its about what is out there for me to see.
5. Next 100km
After completing this 100km, someone asked us to think about what our next 100km goal is. What is that goal that we want to accomplish. It may take a few days or weeks, but bit by bit, through perserverance and resilience, we will get there.
My 100km mark is 2018 Asian Games. To reach that end, I need to prepare myself for all kinds of weather, big steps that challenge me, logistical nightmares etc.
0 comments