Hong Kong 100

Rather than write down a blow-by-blow race recap, I'll just jot down a few of my thoughts and emotions regarding this year's HK 100 (km).

Last year I signed up for the race early, sometime in the fall of 2011, when I was consistently running 50-70 miles per week. At that time, I was quite capable of sub-5 hour King of the Hills finishes, and I was in 3:15-3:30 marathon shape (having run a 3:25 in Phoenix in January 2012). I later did the 65km Round the Island in 7:10, and overall felt like I was getting in great running shape.

However, around October 2012 I started to develop symptoms of over training  I also suffered severe hip pain, which was most likely caused by running downhills on concrete too fast. I battled injury for most of October and November 2012, and then my son Jimmy was born on Dec. 7th, 2012. While of course I love Jimmy more than anything, he was a terribly colic-y baby, screaming all night long. To make matters more stressful, we had to fire our helper at that time. In other words, in the course of three months or so, my trianing went from 50-70 miles a week down to close to zero. I almost decided not to do the HK100, but then figured "what the hell": I had paid the money and could always walk it.

So, to make a long story short, in last year's race  I tried to run most of the first half, which is relatively flat, and then hike the second. The strategy worked out pretty well, and I ended up with a 18:47. Not great, sure, but good for my fitness at the time. After that race, my key take away was that I walked many of the runnable sections, due to my lack of fitness, and that running those would make up the biggest gains in time.

Fast forward to this year. My training in 2012 was consistent, but my volume was certainly down, at roughly 55km per week. Also, I went to the Philipines in mid-December, doing only a few short, quick runs. Overall, I was in decent shape, and could maybe even PR in a 5K. But, I certainly lacked endurance, and training runs in the 3-6 hour range. Thus, I decided to gamble, break the sacred (and usually wise) 10% rule, and do a lot of volume in early January. I did a few key trial runs, a the Sham Tseng KOTH, and then a back-to-back on the weekend before the race. A few days before the race, I was on the verge of injury, but I rested, and my legs healed up ok.

On race day, I met friends Clement Dumont and Sabrina De Nadai, and we took the bus to Tung Chong, and later a taxi to the race. After dropping off bags and the whatnot, the race started, and my main goal was to run easy for the first third, making sure that I could run the runnable sections in the second half. The strategy partly worked, but I still slowed down way too much from 30-44k, going to an easy jog/ultra shuffle. From Check Point 4 to CP5 was my worst section of the race, since I was tired from running, and didn't have my hiking poles. To make matters worse, I cut I had on my had had opened up. (Quite randomly, however, I found a glove on the course, and then had my hand bandaged up, and then covered it with the random glove. Quite an odd experience, since i was thinking, "where in the world can i get a glove?" when not just 5 minutes later did I find a random glove on the course).

Once at Check Point 5, which is roughly the halfway mark at 53k and where you can pick up a drop bag, I changed out of my zero-drop Altra Lone Peaks and into my old Montrail Rogue Racers, which I decided to take on a whim, just in case running in zero drop became too difficult. this proved to be a great decision, since the pathetic ultra shuffle involves obvious heel striking, and this is a lot easier to do in a shoe with decent cushioning and drop (ie. 10mm).

The rest of the race went well, as I used my arms to power my with the poles. Perhaps the strangest thing about this race is that, contrary to my main ultra assumption -- which is that there will be major physical and emotional highs and lows -- I felt pretty good the whole race. Even more than that, I'd say that I was having fun, and felt like I could keep on going, much as I would feel on a two hour hike. The only time when I started to really hope to see the finish line was in the last downhill section off Tai Mao Shan towards the finish, where I clocked in at 17:40.

Although my goal was 15-17 hours, I can't be too disappointed, since I thoroughly enjoyed the whole race experience, and I took off 1:07 from last year. The weather was perfect. The volunteers were amazingly friendly and helpful, and the check point food was fantastic (fresh oranges, ripe bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...etc). The only downside of the race was that I lost a 500 HKD note that took off with the wind while I bought a bag of chips at the finish. Nonetheless, Clement (who ran a strong 13 hour something, good for having suffered quad cramps), Sabrina (who ran a strong 18:100 and I headed home by taxi, and I got home around 4am, which wasn't too bad.

My biggest take-aways from this year:

1) I definitely need more volume and long runs in order to do better. At least in my experience, doing well in ultras often comes down to volume and long runs, plain and simple.
2) Although I am a big proponent of zero drop shoes in general, it may be wise to use cushioned standard drop shoes for runs over three hours, when one's form inevitably fades.
3) The value of doing vertical training with poles can't be underestimated. (I was passed a lot from 30-53k, but not too much from then on, when the hiking began, in part due to my hill preparation). Poles can absolutely be invaluable once your legs are fried. (On a side note: I also feel that they can make running a bit more of a full body workout, and give people who are tall/more muscular a bit of boost, since normally super skinny and/or short people tend to have the advantage in most running races, due to their lower caloric needs and higher VO2).

Anyway, I loved this race, and will probably try to do it as long as I live in HK. In non-fit years I'll be happy with around a 17-19 hour finish, and in fit years, i'd love to get down to sub 14 or 15. Since my next son/daughter will be born in June, i'm expecting more the former next year around!

Race recap for Lantau 2 Peaks

The Lantau Two Peaks is one of the premier trail events in Hong Kong, with over 800 participants running, hiking, panting, and crawling up a course that ascends and descends about a mile of elevation in less than a half-marathon. About 80% of the course is on trails, much of which consists of the large stones that comprise the stairs that make up the trails to the peaks.

Every year the course changes directions. Last year, it did the steep ascent up to Sunset Peak from Tung Chong first, and I took out that section too fast. Then, feeling overly-confident in my downhill running prowess, I took out the downhill from Sunset way too fast too (or at least as fast as I’d normally do it in one training run up and down Sunset, which is right near my home). I over exerted myself going up Lantau Peak, and by the time that I had 3,000ft of desending to do, much of it simply running down stairs, my quads were shot. To make matters worse, I was still in the ball park of hitting a 3:30 finish, only having to do around a 5k in 30 minutes, most of it on the last flat section going to the mall in Tung Chong, City Gate. But by then I was suffering heat stroke, and I miserably walked it in, and near collapsed at the finish. Luckily my wife Rhea and friends Sabrina and Clement (the winner of the race) were there to dump water on me, and cool me off.

This year, I was determined not to run such a disastrous race. Based on the past experience and three recon runs, I decided on the following:

1)      Don’t take out the first section too hard. In some ways, the first uphill section up Nei Lak Shan to the Big Buddha is one of the hardest assents of the course, and it comes right away. The path goes up from the flat section near Tung Chong up to the base of Nei Lak Shan, which is actually the eighth highest peak in Hong Kong. (Note: they could easily call this two and a half peaks!)  Simialrly, just as in the marathon, if you run the first part too fast, you are not “banking time”, you are sowing the seeds for your demise.

2)      The heat could be a factor. In my training runs, which were often done at 30 C, I often noted that I felt about done when hitting Pak Au Gou, after Lantau Peak. If it were hot, it would be vital to rein it in.

3)      Don’t overstride on the downhills.

4)      Use poles. Luckily, I bought the Black Dimaond polls for the HK 100. In a few training runs up Lantau Peak, which comparable to an assent up a skyscraper, I noticed that polls could relive 20-40% of the burden from my legs, and by using my tris/lats, I could spare some of the energy in my legs.

5)      I divided the race into sections, and had a strategy for each. Flat area at start of race: don’t take out too fast, but run comfortably hard. Stairs up to Nei Lak and Nei Lak trail: again, don’t go too hard, stay within one’s ability. In training, I’d hit the part of the Nei Lak wooden stairs with the warning signs at an hour, in the race hit it at 53. Up to Lantau Peak: again, don’t go too hard, but use arms and poles to do the heavy lifting. Down Lantau: take advantage of this scenic downhill section, a relative comparative advantage for me, but don’t overstride. Up Sunset: again, use what’s left in the arms. Down Sunset: run fast and confidently (knowing I had done this section a few times, prepping the quads for the soreness in the process), but keep enough in the legs for last section of flats. Flat last 2K: give all that there is left.

The endresult is that I implemented this outline of a plan very well, and I ran just about as good of a race as I could expect on the day, given my fitness and training. I was also happy that I was able to do this in my Altra Lone Peaks, which performed very well on this terrain. 

With a time of 3:26, I took off around 20 minutes from last year. When the results come out, we’ll see how I placed, but hopefully it’s near the front side of the mid-pack, so to speak!

UPDATE: 57th overall (out of 441 finishers), and 30 out of 148 in category (male 30-39).

Review of Altra Instincts

Now that I've logged about 60 miles in my Altra Instincts, I think it's about time that I can offer a review.  There are better technical reviews out there on the web (ie...see Runblogger's review for example), so I'll limit this review to two main aspects: 1) why I bought the shoe, and 2) did it live up to my expectations for that purpose.

Like many, I've been interested in minimalism for some time, but especially after hearing about the barefoot movement, and the hype surrounding Born to Run. Thus, over the past few years, I've been trying to become more and more minimalist, and do so in a way that is sustainable and realistic -- in other words, not just switching all of a sudden to Vibrams and running 20 miles on pavement.  Meanwhile, I had heard about Altra via Run Run Live and Geeks in Running Shoes, and I was very interested in giving them a try.

Currently, in my shoe rotation, I have the Kinvara 3, Altra Lone Peak, Montrail Rogue Racer and Rogue Fly, Altra Instinct, and Mizuno Wave Universe 4.  I can hear what you're saying..."that's a ton of shoes! Why so many?" Well, A) I like running shoes, and each has a different purpose, and B) Hong Kong is so humid that sometimes it may take 2-3 days for a shoe to be dry enough to run in again!

Well, here's how I use each: Kinvaras are for my daily running and some speed work. Lone Peaks are for trail running, especially on dry days. Montrails are for either trail or road, but I mainly use them now for either wet trails or if my calves need some rest. Mizuno Wave Universe are used for races, speed work, and treadmill running.

That brings me to the main reason for getting the Instincts. On most week days I run commute to work, going 10-15K via the Hong Kong Olympic Trail from Mui Wo to Tung Chong. This scenic route goes through sub-tropical areas, through old villages, up and around a mini-mountain range on Lantau Isalnd , and then back down towards the coast. In practical terms, this means that two sections of semi-flat running are separated by  a section in which 600ft are gained and descended in the course of about two miles...all on concrete!

For me, this means having decent cushioning on the steep descents going down concrete is a must.  In other words, for my daily running I wanted a minimalist or zero drop shoe that had good cushioning, that would be comfortable, but would also be fairly lightweight.

I very happy to say that the Altra Instincts are just about the perfect shoe for my run commute requirements, and I would go so far as to say that they're just about the ideal shoe for people who are looking for an everyday minimalist or zero drop trainer. As others have mentioned, the wide toe box and foot-shaped design makes for a very comfortable fit.  I've even done some tempos in them, and while they feel slightly heavy for faster running, they certainly do ok.

Perhaps my biggest surprise is that, compared to running in zero drop shoes with no cushioning or racing flats, say, the Merrell Train Glove or Mizuno Wave Universe (both of which are good shoes for specific purposes), there's probably less overall strain on the calves and Achilles that one feels when running in the Instincts, perhaps due to the fact that it has a smoother , more cushioned ride. On a practical level, this means that, assuming you have built up to it, you can run in them several times per week, or even use them as the "go to" shoe in your rotation, rather than just a form or strengthening tool.

Going forward, I'd hope that the Altra folks could decrease the weight a bit, and also add a bit more grip/traction underfoot. Otherwise, I wouldn't suggest dramatically altering an already great shoe.

So, I hope this review helps. I'd be happy to hear others' views, or discuss any questions related to Altra Instincts or the zero drop phenomenon!