Trail Titans 16km 2023

I signed up for this race with some friends a while back. We thought it would be good training for the Spartan Trifecta at the end of October. I think it would have been a good experience if only I had prepared adequately for it. Running 16km in the jungle is nothing like running 16km on the road. When you throw in over 800m of elevation on a rather technical trail, it is really not for the untrained.

I started strong, but my heart rate spiked to over 200 bpm very early in. The price of neglecting my cardio training was evident but I still felt good to go. We slowed to a brisk walk on the ascent to the first trailhead. I still felt good. Somewhere inside that trail, my left shoulder started to hurt. It was a weird sensation that I couldn’t describe and it triggered my fear because it was not unlike the right arm sensation I had before the stroke.

J1 and J2 were ahead of me at this stage but they stopped to wait for me when the trail merged with the road. J1 helped me press the knot in my shoulder. My arm felt better if I kept it forward so I hooked my left thumb to my right shoulder strap to keep it in front of my body. We navigated the next off-road section fairly well and my shoulder ache went away.

There were three water stops – the first after the 6km mark, the second after the 9km mark and the third after the 13km mark. My pace was dropping from the first water stop, but I could still continue even after the last water stop, even if it was a struggle at some parts. Perhaps it was because my watch was not calibrated and it showed that I only had 1+km left. As I walked and walked and navigated the more technical parts of the route, I started to feel more fatigued when the end was nowhere in sight. My pace was painfully slow but as long as I was still moving forward, I didn’t care if it was a snail’s pace.

The hardest part of the race was in the final leg from the last water stop. There were downhill segments that were muddy and slippery with no handholds. The inclines were no better because fatigue had already gotten the better of me. I didn’t know which was worse – the inclines that taxed my cardio or the descents that taxed my legs. I told J1 and J2 to go ahead and not wait for me. I should have told them to go home when they crossed the finish line.

I didn’t realise that the last leg would be so long. When my watch marked 16km, I told myself that there was probably a slight difference between my watch and the race markers. I told myself that I would surely get to the finish by 17km. 17km came and went. Then 18km. Then 19km. The race marshalls kept telling me I was nearly there but I stopped believing them. The end was still nowhere in sight. It wasn’t until I heard the children playing that I knew I had to be near the park and, therefore, the end. My watch was nearing 20km and I was crawling. I didn’t even bother to run to the finish because I’d missed the cutoff time.

There were so many times when I regretted the choice to do the 16km category. My brain kept telling me that I would be finished by now if I had only signed up for 10km. A few times, I told myself that I would DQ and take the route home when it was possible. Unfortunately, no one indicated it was an option so I kept going.

What I learned from this race about fueling – it’s better to overpack than underpack. Don’t insist on waiting until you hit certain markers before taking a gel. It’s better to take it early than after you’re tired. Bars are too difficult to eat later – it was hard to swallow and I felt like I was eating cardboard. If I have them, it would be better to eat them earlier in the race because it takes time to get into the system. The N8 Endurance drinks they supplied at the water stations were really good. I filled my bladder up every time I hit a station and finished almost all of it. I had no cramps and even though I didn’t need to go to the toilet while on the trail, I needed to go quite frequently after the race. Each time, my urine was quite clear. Despite all my sweating, I wasn’t dehydrated. I should consider getting N8 to add to my water for the next race.

What I learned after this race – it is clear that I will not make the Spartan Trifecta in this condition. If I don’t start training my hikes and inclines, I can kiss that race goodbye. The new target training plan – do at least:

• Strength – 2x a week for obstacles training.
• Hike – 2/3x a week for distance training.

High-intensity cardio at other times for VO2 max training.