Advertisement
"The hardest part of a race is not getting to the finish, it is getting to the start. It is the motivation it takes to push the enter button, the guts it takes to dedicate yourself to training, the mental power to push through the pain and tough times. And it is all those qualities within that will drive you to the finish." - Anna Frost
Preparation: I had this event under my radar from its inaugural in Sept 2012. It would be so epic to add Mt Fuji to Montserrat, Eiffel tower & GWC! I was ready to sign up for the 2013 event. It turns out, 2nd year underwent a lot of changes, including the event date and entry requirement. For wild life consideration, the event moved from Sept to April. Unfortunately, that announcement came after comitting to Boston marathon, grrr. In addition, UTMF added entry prerequisites similar to UTMB. No problem. We satisfied with our Eco Trail de Bruxelles. Oh, also the entry fee doubled, ouch! So here we are, all set for Apr 2014! This would mark my 5th of this distance but the race prep has been very different from any of the previous
80+kms.
First, the gear requirement. As with UTMB, it has lengthy list of mandatory gear list. Challenge is to stuff all of them in a pack and to be able to run with it. There will be gear check at check-in as well as on-course. We can be DQ'ed any time. So here they are, from the event site:
• 10-page pdf detailed course maps
• Mobile phone (you must be able to make/receive calls in Japan with this mobile phone). The emergency phone number for race headquarters will be written on your racer number card/bib. Make sure your phone is fully charged before the race. You may receive emergency information on your phone before/during the race.
• Personal cup for hot/cold drinks at aid stations (minimum 150cc size). Paper cups will not be provided at the aid stations.
• Water (you must carry a minimum of 1L of water at the start line and upon leaving each aid station)
• Food
• 2 lights with replacement batteries for both lights. Remember that battery life will decline in cold temperatures.
• Survival blanket (minimum size of 130cm x 200cm)
• Whistle
• Adhesive elastic tape/band (minimum length of 80cm x 3cm)
• Portable/disposable toilet
• Warm fleece or
warm long sleeve shirt. Cotton shirts are not allowed
• Warm running pants or leggings or a combination of tights/leggings and long socks which cover the legs completely. Cotton pants/leggings are not allowed. (*5)
• Warm gloves/mittens and hat that covers your ears.
• Waterproof rain jacket with hood & rain pants (both made of waterproof and breathable membrane such as Gore-Tex or something similar; seams must be seam-sealed) (Item 11. and 12. cannot be used to replace item 14.)
• First aid kit (such as band aids, disinfectant, etc)
• Overseas travel/accident insurance policy
• Race number card/bib and Race IC Chips (to put on both shoes). These will be given to you at the race.
• Flashing reflector light (put this light on your backpack during the race so that cars will be able to see you at night). This light will be given to you at the race.
We pretty much had to gather them from scratch. We held out pretty long with Nathan packs which fit next to nothing. Ghetto extra compartment attachment would wiggle, fall and threw off the weight distribution...a disaster. So the pack even underwent a facelift ($$$!) at the last minute. I would say the highlight is
disposable toilet. This is the only trail race, thus far, that no pee is allowed whatsoever. This is because Mt Fuji is sacred to begin with. In addition, I learned that its induction to World Heritage Site made the maintenance under scrutiny.
Second, we devised a training plan/guideline which entailed back-to-back long runs that progressively increased over 4 months. Based on the cumulative incline, I was envisioning the run to be more like Matagalls than EcoTrail, although I will never know until the wee hours of Apr 27. It started out well, taking us to new trails. But as always, hurdles strike suddenly and unexpectedly. First, a freak abdominal pain from, most likely, sit ups. Yep, you heard it right. It's so ridiculous and embarrassing. But the pain was so exclusiating I couldn't even stand straight. It was hard to run on it because I couldn't breath deep for the first 5 miles into the run. It took a good week to settle down. Second was coming down with cold...fail. I ended up giving it to Vinh too...double fail! Nose was stuffed but lung had full capacity. So far, those mishaps didn't impact my running volume. Then came my shin splint. This one being the 3rd-time-charm, my running volume had to give. It started half way through the training. Between spinning, ART and test runs, it took good month and half to settle. Last but not least, just when I thought the curse was over, it struck me for a good measure. I fell on AR50 course. It's not like I never fall. But this fall, for the first time ever, had to became a nasty knee swell, no! In reality, it took only a few days to subside but at that point in time, it put me in a panic mode for missing the last back-to-back long runs. All in all, I didn't have to miss running more than a week at a time...I'll take it.
Aside from things under my control, on Mar 24, the event committee announced the course change. 2014 course will go clockwise around Mt Fuji, instead of 2013's counterclockwise. What does that mean to me? First, the distance is 91.5km now. Second, although the cumulative elevation gain is more-or-less the same, there will be more sharp inclines & declines. Third, that side of the route has less regional specialty food offering. And last but not least, the course will go by that infamous forest...during the wee hours of darkness.
Starting from 2 weeks out, I was starting to get jitterly. Runs were becoming shorter and final check of gear was in order. Stop checking the weather already! At the same time, I was excited. It was going to be epic with good support, scenary and pain. Just remember to enjoy it and be in the moment...
Under a normal circumstance, setbacks don't come during taper. Vinh and I would enjoy the taper and all we'd have to worry is packing. But the most horrible and inexplicable tragedy managed to find Vinh. We left with the greatest anxiety for him to be able to start the race :'(
On our way to Shizuoka: My first time in Dreamliner. It's a good thing United is partner with ANA. In our front row seat, my legs didn't even reach the wall. Washlet, iemon tea, super healthy Japanese bento...you get the idea!
Direct flight arrived early at ~3:30p. Rented phone and got on Narita Express. Destination; Tokyo station. We needed to leave 1 bag at left luggage while we go to Mt Fuji. Bam bam, we got to Shijuku and got the bus tickets for the next day. This time, the homework paid off and all went smooth. Even then, all those errands put us late enough and tired enough. We picked up quick fixing at Famima around the corner and called it a night. I was tired but jetlag kept me up between 2-4am, wide awake by 5am. So even after a coffee stop at Dotour, we made it to the bus stop earlier than our reserved 8:30 bus. We got on the earlier bus to Gotenba. On to Mt Fuji territory! We arrived at Gotenba station shortly before 10am. First on the agenda was to get Mikuriya soba. Kintaro was ~mile to the other side of town from the hotel. So we dragged the suitcase there. After 30min wait, the restaurant opened. It was fancier and more kodawari than I had imagined.
We walked 2 miles to the other side of the station to our hotel. That was hard with Vinh's foot being excessively swollen from the long flight. We finally made it a few hours before 3p check in. We made few trips to Lawson to prep for tomorrow and to kill time. At 3p sharp (!) we got the key. Japanese punctuality at its best. Totally unthinkable from Vinh's limp walk earlier, he was up to giving run a try! Even more pleasantly surprising, he successfully completed 1.5 mile round trip via the station. We stopped by the supermarket to pick up dinner. I was crossing my fingers and toes that Vinh will stay ok and be able to at least get to the start line tomorrow.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.469s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 17; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0958s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb