more pictures here.Yesterday came and went in a blur and when I woke up this morning, I couldn't believe it was over.
Thanks to the great people at CommsDNA and Subaru for making yesterday possible for us. I must say the race was everything I thought, but more. The route was as follows:
- Run loop around Mandai
- Mountain bike down Track 15 in the dark
- Bike drop near Zhenghua Park
- Trail run through One With Nature and Track 15
- Bike through BT in reverse
- Run to Hindehede Quarry, jump and swim, climb cargo net to safety
- Run back to BT carpark and bike through Rifle Range to Kent Ridge
- Trail run through Kent Ridge bike loop
- Bike to Pasir Panjang, through Keppel and to Marina South
- Swim in the sea
- Abseil from Sheares bridge into the sea x 3
- Tyrolean traverse back to shore
- Kayak from Sheares bridge near Fort Road to Clarke Quay
- Stop at Esplanade along the way and jump off bridge
- Kayak back to Sheares bridge near Fort Road
- Zip line aka flying fox into the sea from Sheares Bridge
- Run to paddle board station and paddle board to shore near Indoor Stadium
- Final cargo net, run to finish line
The total distance was 60km they said, but I guess it didn't feel too bad. Since the husband and I are of totally different strengths, we took it really easy to avoid any conflict. The first trail run was nowhere near as difficult or technical as Nomad, but it was enough to make the knee go creak. Biking BT in reverse is something I still find challenging, but you could tell this was everyone else's nemesis. Many contestants around us cramped up and walked through the course. You could tell they were definitely not enjoying themselves... yet.
I was fine galloping on one leg, but once we got to Marina South on our bikes and knew we weren't going to get cut off from any of the fun rope segments at the end, we did lots of walking between the stations. The husband and I were armed with a waterproof disposable camera, so we got had lots of fun like tourists and took lots of pictures. I felt really confident on the abseil segments, but once I hit the bridge jump I totally freezed up. The husband held my hand and counted me into the jump - It made the quarry jump at Ubin seem like nothing! As soon as I hit the water, I felt a total rush of adrenelin though!
Then, there was the 40m zipline into the sea.. As Hubba and I made it up the bridge for the final descent, my stomach started churning and nausea hit me... again. But this time, I knew it was fear. I was literally crapping myself. But he said there was nothing to be afraid of and I ought to enjoy myself. When I climbed over the bridge, I was totally gripped by fear. I guess it was because this time I knew I wasn't going to be in control. And when the safety dude told me to let go of the banister, I took a long while to respond. But when I finally did, I heard him yell, 'open your eyes'! So I did, and oh my it was fun. Whee! When I hit the water, I just thought: Dang, can I do that again?
Team Fangs ended up taking around 8.5 hours to finish, which is ages really! Team Angels a.k.a. Rina and Rebecca came in 1st in their category, and Team MingLing came in 3rd!! No surprises there, these superheros are fast and furious! =)
I am absolutely covered in abrasions and am totally sunburnt today. We also managed to lose my phone during the race so if you've been trying to ring me, there's a reason why I haven't been responding. Got the day off to recover today, so am going to hop down to town and get my new sim card later, so I'll be reachable by lunch if you need me guys - esp Germ and Jem, let the office know yeah?
Hmmm, I want to go
whee again!
courtesy of ST Interactive