We are now only three weeks away from the Nepal Ultra marathon. I am very excited about the challenge ahead, more so because our two oldest daughters will be joining us. They will do the 60km option, while my husband and I do the 100km. I have been sticking to my training schedule and really thought I was on track with my fitness… that is until the race last weekend on Lantau Island.
Called the Suunto two Peaks, it is 21kms of grueling torture up and down two of the highest peaks in Hong Kong. It starts innocently enough from Tung Chung plaza. The first few kilometers are flat and shady and you are lulled into a false sense of security. All too soon the flat path ends and you hit the steps that take you up underneath the cable car to the big Buddha. It is impossible to run, or even go fast (what a relief!) as hundreds of people are squashing into single file. The first climb isn’t too bad, and after about 30mins of steps the ground levels out and we can actually break into a jog. However the relief is short-lived, looming ahead is Lantau peak, and a set of vertical steps leading to the summit. Even a mountain Goat would baulk at the steepness, the Stairmaster has nothing on this workout!
I decided it was better to put my head down and not look up. A few people squeezed past me, and I was happy to let them go. I’m sure the view was stunning but I was concentrating too hard on breathing and climbing to notice it.
Have you ever had one of those dreams where you were running but not getting anywhere? That’s what climbing Lantau Peak felt like. Every time I sneaked a look up, there were just steps after steps after steps…..
Eventually (after what felt like hours) I reached the top. The view was amazing, and once I could breathe again I decided the climb was worth it. I happily started on the downhill, thinking the worst was over….Wrong!
The downhill was a killer. There were uneven steps, as steep as on the way up, interspersed with gravel sections where it was almost impossible to find grip. While I gingerly picked my way down, thinking I was going at a civilized speed, agile and confident runners zipped past me making me feel like a Grandma. I wanted to shout at them to “be careful, you might fall”, but sensibly kept my mouth shut.
Eventually I reached the bottom of the terrible descent and found the second checkpoint. I stopped for a minute to fill up my water bag and commiserate with my fellow runners about our aching legs. I had conquered the first 13kms of the run, 935m uphill and down, but now I had to do it all again over Sunset Peak!
Four hours later I dragged myself across the finish line. I was exhausted, my legs felt like jelly, but I had done it, and in a quicker time than the previous year. A lady that had breezed past me out on the trails greeted me as I limped my way to get a Gatorade. She smiled cheerfully and said, “what a great way to spend a Sunday morning”, and much to my surprise I found myself agreeing with her. It was all worth it; now that I was finished I recognized what a great challenge I had just completed. Adrenaline and post race euphoria kicked in and I gave myself a pat on the back, I stopped hobbling and stood a little straighter. While I waited for my husband to finish, I cheered incoming runners across the line and marveled at how many crazy people were spending their Sunday morning racing up Mountains. My euphoria was short lived however as it soon hit me that the first day of our run in Nepal is as high a climb as what I had just done, but another 22kms longer. What have I gotten myself into!
A massage later that afternoon was a supposed to soothe my aching muscles, but instead I got “Attilla the Hun” who proceeded to pummel me within an inch of my life even though I was yelling out “softer softer”. (Which wasn’t helped by the fact my husband on the next bed was yelling out “harder harder”).
A few days after the race, when the aches in my legs had subsided enough that I could sit down without pain, my natural optimism re-asserted itself. The two peaks race was great training for Nepal, and my legs and mind will be stronger because of it. My motto is “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and if I survived Sunday’s race, then I will survive Nepal.
I’m excited.