Road Running Rage

This weekend, I had a revelation. I found out that I truly am, without doubt, a mountain runner. Not just an ordinary runner, who’s content to race on roads. No, if I’m not running and racing in the mountains, I’m not entirely happy.

Road Racing - My ultimate nightmare. Courtesy of http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/

I signed up for the Siem Reap Half Marathon three months ago. The reasons, well because:

1) I’ve not done a serious road race for four years, so I was interested to see what sort of time I’d do over a recognisable distance.

2) There aren’t any mountain running races that I know of in Vietnam. Hence, if I want to race, there’s no alternative but to race on the road.

3) I’d heard the Siem Reap Half Marathon course is incredible, the race itself starting outside the world renouned Angkor Wat temple, then winding its way right past the temples of Angkor, along shaded tree lined roads.

4) Everyone from Hanoi I knew who wasn’t going to the Singapore Marathon that weekend was going to the Siem Reap race. So it seemed like the social, fun weekend away thing to do.

The half marathon start - Angkor Wat Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Courtesy of http://www.tothailand.com

I followed Hal Higdon’s advanced half marathon training plan for 12 weeks, religiously doing my intervals and tempos and paces and endurance runs. These in them themselves I found a drag to do. Running around tarmac roads, negotiating Hanoi traffic, breathing in their fumes made the whole training schedule even worse. I thought my feelings were just normal, until I met others doing similar training schedules who didn’t seem to mind the monotony of road running or its associated events.

But I sucked it up. What with no sizeable parks around Hanoi, I didn’t have an alternative place to run except on the city’s roads. And I didn’t have an alternative mountain race to train for, because they don’t seem to exist.

Anyhow, last Sunday morning saw Siem Reap’s half marathon take place. I was as prepared as I could have been.

So when the gun went off, I keep to my racing plan. I stayed around 169 beats per minute for 10 kilometres, and then crept into the 170s for the rest of the run. I looked at my watch as I passed the painted markers, working out my pace in my head. But the more I ran, the more bored I felt with every passing minute. Why? Well:

Greg illustrating how I feel when mountain running. Courtesy of John Shiels.

1) The race was so flat. There were no hills to run up that would give me splendid views from the top. There were no downhills to sprint down for the fun of it or that would allow me time to catch my breath.

2) I became obsessed with my watch. I spent the whole time mentally calculating time and pace and distance and speed. During a mountain run, I’d maybe look at my watch once to work out when to start speeding up towards the end. At the end of most mountain races, I’d forget to click stop as I crossed the line. Because racing on the road is so terribly boring, I found there’s nothing else to do except look at my watch all the time.

3) All the other competitors around were totally obsessed with their times. As soon as I finished, it seemed like everyone spent the next few hours comparing results. Your time is never a big issue in mountain races. For example, here’s a post-mountain racing conversation “How did you do? Good. I really enjoyed that muddy bit. And that climb, could you run it or did you walk?” And here’s what I heard on Sunday: “How did you do? Good. Ran 1 hour 35 minutes 16 seconds. Beat my personal best of 1 hour 35 minutes and 20 seconds. Really pleased with myself with shaving off those 4 seconds”. Personally, I think the first mountain running conversation is a much more interesting one.

So I ended up coming over the line and for some reason bursting out in tears. I missed mountain running. I missed the mud and mountain air. I missed the steep climbs and rocky descents. And I missed home. It was very embarrassing to be bawling my eyes out at the end of a run. But I just felt miserable. I never knew road running could have such a profound effect on me.

Not that I didn’t have a great weekend away in Siem Reap itself. The race route was indeed beautiful and the race was well organised. Afterwards, we had breakfast at the Blue Pumpkin bakery straight after the race, an hour long thai massage, lots of bottles of Angkor Beer on Siem Reap’s Bar Street and beside the hotel pool, and good craic with the lads from the Red River Runners and the French School. But I just learnt that I’m not a road racer. I’ll do my training runs on the flat, I’ll run on the road, but don’t ask me to race on it again, or next time I might do something worse than cry.

5 thoughts on “Road Running Rage

  1. Pingback: Heading to Nepal « Running over Mountains and around the World
  2. Hi Moire,

    You should look into the Magadui trophy race at end of February. Not sure how mountainous it is but definitely not a road race from what I have heard: http://www.vietadventure.vn/?a=event&id=1.

    In fact, I ran across your blog trying to find the Magadui site. The race has never been well promoted (organization in general is a bit by the seat of the pants as well I have been told). Your site comes up before them in a search about adventure running in Vietnam!

    If you aren’t doing it already, take your friend’s advice and run at down or earlier in Hanoi. I have no choice but to train most weeks in HCMC which I have to guess is worse than Hanoi. But at the crack of dawn it’s bearable and I usually find something new and interesting (or downright weird) going on at that time of day. Even after 15 years in Vietnam.

    If you run Siem Reap again, leave your watch in the hotel and take a look around when you are running! I love that race. The road is flat and boring but the scenery, architecture and history under your feet is not. And neither are the crowds of enthusiastic kids and guides, vendors… whatever… supporting along the way. After what those people have been through its truly astonishing that they can put on such a welcoming, hospitable event like that. We are lucky we can run in such a magical place. Even if it is flat (which, personally I don’t mind but I can see where you are coming from).

    Love the blog, by the way. Keep running.

    Patrick

    Reply
    1. Hey Patrick, thanks for all the great pieces of advice – especially like your idea of running early in the morning just for sheer entertainment. And as it happens, I’m already signed up for the Madagui Trophy. Should be fun!

      Reply
  3. I know how you feel Moire! I am limited to running on a track here in Kuwait and even that only when no men are there trainng–so usually I climb the fence on weekend mornings and my neighbor hands Niamh over the fence to me–she plays in the sand pit while I slog away the laps–zzzzzz–so much for endorphins eh? I have always preferred trail running too! Have you tried runnin early in the morning–when I lived in El Salvador I woudl run at dawn and that made city running much more bearable…
    Miss you and mssin those green hills of Ireland too!
    Ker

    Reply
    1. Missing the green hills of Ireland too… even if they are all white now – Oh, the pains of missing the IMRA winter league!

      Keep fit Kerry and keep in touch girl!

      Reply

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