This was my final training run before next week’s big event – the Vibram HK100. Actually, it was a race but I gave myself strict orders : at no point during the race was I supposed to feel like crap. Meaning, I was to avoid being influenced by runners around me and play my own game. At the end of the race, I had to feel like I could do another 20km. So, speed was to be controlled accordingly.

I reached Nam Shan at about 9.30am and was amazed at the turnout. When I first did KOTH two years back, there were probably half the number of participants as there were today. Looks like Hong Kongers are increasingly keen to get fit!

Jogger Joel showed up in his usual trademark style: two cameras were mounted on his head, one focused on the view from the front and the other served as his 3rd eye at the back of his head. (It probably captured me expressing certain obscenities when he was busy running). He was also missing his luggage tag (one tag is issued for all races and a replacement costs HKD 20). Nobody likes paying fines and he was no exception. However, he came up with what he thought to be a bulletproof plan. He handed them a large 500 dollar note, banking on the fact that they wouldn’t have 480 bucks in change. Unfortunately, they seemed to have a lot more than just 480 bucks, which let both of us to conclude that they would be the perfect targets for a planned robbery.

The race started at 10am. I was busy focusing on keeping cool and ran a little slowly in the beginning. Several runners overtook me during the Sunset peak climb. However, keeping cool and a slow start paid off once I reached the turnoff to Pok Tai Shan. I turned on my noisy mode (heavy and loud breathing) and that frustrated the runners in front of me enough to get out of my way (Nora wasn’t pleased). On the way down from Pok Tai Shan to Tung Chung, Olya came dashing down the mountain like a speeding bullet. Not willing to be taken out by this bullet, I did the wise thing and got the heck out of her way. She disappeared even before I could blink my eye.

That horrible descent from Pok Toi Shan to Tung Chung featured several thorny overgrown shrubs and scratched my sexy legs on several occasions. Note to self: next time, attach a machete to the side of each leg. (TAKE THAT SHRUBS – revenge is going to be sweet). Anyway, after that descent, there was some flat running all the way to the beginning of a 650m climb to Ngong Ping. Abiding by the strict orders I received, I kept my pace fairly easy (9kmh) and didn’t even bother looking at other racers (females excluded). The climb to Ngong Ping was powered by a gel and sufficient water, resulting in me feeling like Rambo for a few moments. I managed to re-overtake the speeding bullet (Olya), albeit only temporarily.

The tourists in Ngong Ping were all puzzled by my rather un-touristy look. I got weird stares as I was making a beeline for The Wisdom Sticks – the start to the infamous climb to the summit of Lantau Peak. I regulated speed again as I was climbing those super steep stairs up to Lantau Peak. Then, I had a dejavu. It was Olya overtaking me again with some serious power. Once again, I did the wise thing and got out of her way. My orders were to maintain an easy pace and I wasn’t going to disobey them (ok, fine, I had little energy to overtake her!) Anyway, I reached the peak slowly but steadily and then it was time for one of my favorite downhill stretches in Hong Kong: the run from Lantau Peak to Pak Kung Au. I did the usual – I envisioned I was flying a Cessna (yes, I’ve got issues) and “flew” downhill to Pak Kung Au.

The last 7km stretch from Pak Kung Au back to Nam Shan seemed never ending. I kept my pace fairly constant and overtook 3 runners during this stretch. This last stretch made me hungry but I had already used up all my ammunition. (Note to self: next time, carry more food man!)

And, finally, I finished the race in 4 hours 29 minutes (12th in my category, 19th overall). Olya finished 8 minutes quicker and another runner I thought I would see but never saw was Chang, he finished in true “Express” fashion – in 4 hours 8 minutes. The winner, who in all probability is some kind of bionic man, finished in an incredible 3 hours 28 minutes.

Great race. Now, to rest the body for the big (and scary) race next week.

Garmin.

Distance	Time	Altitude	Avg Speed	Maxspeed	Up	Down
0.000 km	0s	145 m	-	-	-	-
5.005 km	47m 33s	652 m	6.32 km/h	20.61 km/h	560 m	53 m
5.007 km	38m 27s	26 m	6.99 km/h	20.67 km/h	612 m	731 m
4.995 km	48m 40s	476 m	6.69 km/h	22.63 km/h	1098 m	767 m
4.993 km	50m 11s	751 m	6.49 km/h	22.63 km/h	1534 m	928 m
5.006 km	46m 54s	372 m	6.47 km/h	22.63 km/h	1750 m	1523 m
5.006 km	32m 34s	218 m	6.81 km/h	22.63 km/h	1779 m	1706 m
0.779 km	5m 25s	154 m	6.85 km/h	22.63 km/h	1779 m	1770 m

Total: 30.791 km in 4h 29m 44s at an average of 6.85 km/h

GPX.

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