Malaysian Women's Marathon (MWM) - 7th April 2013

Malaysian Women's Marathon (MWM) was the brainchild of Karen Loh.

She wanted a race where women could feel like they bloody well own it and race the way they would like to....wear whatever they would want to....and most of all to feel the empowerment that comes from an all-female running event.
....and men could just putter around as volunteers and pacers.

She even went all out to invite Kathrine Switzer (the legendary!!! Google her if you still have no clue who she is....despite countless features of her in Runner's World magazine) over to our shores just for this race!!!


Honestly I wasn't prepared for this race.

I've not done a proper road race since.....



..........




Ok if I have to think that long...then it must be a bloody long time ago.

Most likely.....since Vibram HK100.

Yes...that long.

And no....the 10km run after the bike leg in triathlons does not count.

Anyway was still rehabbing a faulty left knee. After the run leg at Penang Tri a week ago, I was back in pain.

But I figured I could surely power-walk a 7 hour "marathon"....although many people will argue that marathons are meant for running.
Then again these people most likely have never done an ultramarathon before where walking is as essential as running in efforts to complete.

The day before....somehow found myself agreeing to go cycling with the uncles.....and they somehow convinced me that I could somehow follow behind the BJCC group.
Of course I couldn't somehow "become" a cyclist that rides an average speed of 35 km/hr.....but in all optimism, I showed up......tried my darnest to follow despite being dropped within the first 10 minutes....and completed 80km ride.....and on the morning of the marathon, still feeling the quad-hammering effect of it all.
I concluded that I was the sort that was easily conned by a bunch of cycling uncles.

Anyhoo....

Woke up at 2am to prep...and left the house at 3am.....got to race venue with lotsa time to spare.

Race was held at iCity in Shah Alam.
In my mind....this place was in the middle of no where.
I've raced and returned home...and I have yet to change my mind on that notion.

The full marathon was flagged off at 4.30am...right on the dot.

I kinda left the watch at home......
I figured I'll run according to feel. If I feel good...I run. If I don't feel good....I walk.
Good plan, eh?

*Photo courtesy of Tey-da-man!!!! Picture with Race Director, Karen.....one half of the running-couple, Sue O'brien.....the ever gracious Kathrine Switzer.....yours truly....Maybel and Trixie....taken during race kit collection.

* Picture with Vivienne Loo.....courtesy of Andrew. Taken on pasta party day. Check out the dude's blog at http://movingonac.blogspot.com!

* Picture again courtesy of Andrew......on race morning with the ladies....Agnes, yours truly....Carol-the-terror, Pat, Lynn and Phuitin. Thanks Phuitin for the lift!

* Picture with my good friend Emmy....and its her FIRST EVER FULL MARATHON DEBUT!!! Picture courtesy of Winnie's camera.



Started the race at the back of the pack....as always.....with Winnie, Joey and Carol. Plus a lot of familiar faces.

I guess I kinda miss these people since I stop racing that much. It was great to catch up and run together again.

And since Winnie brought her camera.....it was an obvious choice to run with her.
(I can't seem to find mine. Yes....it has been THAT long since I last raced!!!!)

The first 10km was a drag. I can't believe how incredibly slow the time passed.....that, or I'm terribly slow but since I refuse to believe that, I firmly stick to my believe that time felt stagnated.

Also....I was feeling really hungry by the 5th kilometer.
Too early to down a gel. But the hunger was terribly annoying.

Finally at 10km, down the gel and the remaining distance until the halfway point was a lot more pleasant.
Then I felt hungry again.

 * Picture from Winnie's camera.....with Joey and Yimmy all dressed up and raring to go!

* Rupert cycling around the girls....his dream-come-true moment. Picture with Winnie, taken off Winnie's camera.

Down another gel at 20km.....but this time around, it didn't help alleviate the hunger.

Felt a burning sensation at the epigastric region of my abdomen. I need food...and I need it STAT!!!!

Tried to drown the hunger away with isotonic....but did little to help.

* Picture by Louis Ong. With Winnie and Joey..... 

 At 26km....I did what I thought would help the situation.
I popped into the nearest 24-hour McDonald's and got myself an Egg McMuffin.

Took 2 bites out of the burger before feeling queasy.
Perhaps it wasn't such a brilliant idea as when I was standing in line at McD's moments ago.

Kept the burger aside and kept on running.

* Me and my burger. I didn't finish it in the end. Sad day.....sigh. Picture from Winnie's camera.

By 28km.....I felt a regurgitation.

I bent over....I wanted to expel whatever that was remaining in my near empty stomach...but nothing would come out.

Decided it was futile to continue trying to evacuate the gastric content...and continued run/walk.

Continued until 32km.....then felt like I needed to throw up again.

Bent over.....some undigested bananas came out....and nothing else.

Again....decided I wasn't gonna be hanging around at one spot trying to vomit....and continued on.

* At the 30km mark.....12km more to go!!!!!

* Putting on a brave face at 35km marker. 7km to go....and I still felt like hurling.

I'm kinda glad in a way that the route was bloody hilly....coz I took every opportunity to walk up hill.....and trot down.

This plan of action never fails to let me down in any race!!!!!

The route heading back to iCity was incredibly boring.

Traffic was increasing. Aside from some key areas such as roundabouts where there were traffic policemen and MWM volunteers guiding traffic and runners, we were mostly left on our own.

At 38km....the bloated feel overwhelmed me and I tried vomiting again....but to no avail. Sigh.

Winnie says to give up trying to vomit as we were almost at the finish line.

Having her and Joey with me the entire way was very reassuring....and just plain lovely!

I really miss that about running races....the camaraderie.

And having Rupert cycling around us throughout the entire 42km.....and especially at the last 3km was great as well.....although I would have appreciated it more if he had brought along some food. 

* At 41km mark...one more to go....and I feel like dying!!!!! With Khoo posing with the marker. Traffic after this water station was horrendous. We had to wait in front of UiTM, at the traffic lights for it to turn red before crossing over.

The knee somehow managed to hold up (yeah...prolly was walking too much that it didn't get a chance to hurt)....and somehow......I managed to finish this race.......

* Completing it hand in hand.....wit Rupert in the background....Picture courtesy of Ah Weng.

....and we finished it hand in hand.....!!!!!

In 6:04!!!!!

Not too shabby in my opinion.

Big thanks to Winnie and Joey for the company...and the lovely photos taken off Winnie's camera.....and to all the volunteers along the way.

I think the volunteers themselves made this race super special.

There has to be something really endearing about a running race organized by passionate runners....supported by runners....and hyper-fueled with passion for the running community.

* Us hugging the race director....Winnie, Karen, Phuitin and Lynn.

* Rupert and Joey getting into the picture as well!

* Me with my dog-tag finisher's "medal". Above three photos taken off Winnie's camera.

* With Carol-the-terror who had a position in her category....she'll be enjoying a year's supple of free magazines. Picture courtesy of Victor.

* With Iron-mama....picture by her. Just wanna show off my pink shirt :)

In a nutshell...I enjoyed this race more than I thought I would.

But before we rave on the stuff that I loved and adored about this event.....let's not forget it was not without fault....

The traffic control was poor at many parts of the route.....certain areas of the route were not well lit and could possibly be dangerous.....route was boring....iCity has terrible (not to mention overpriced) parking system......and I attempted to vomit many times but failed in an epic scale.

The good bits.....small crowd.....FANTASTIC volunteers.....lotsa water and isotonic at hydration stations.....adequate distance markers.....lovely finisher's T....cute dog-tag as finisher's medal....Carol's gonna be buying me lunch coz she won.....Winnie and Joey.....Winnie's camera....lotsa photos of me (I'm being thoroughly honest!)....and met a lot of my running friends.

And now....am gonna go back to rehabbing the knee....until my next race at Bidor Half Marathon!!!!

Later!!!!!!

I'm in a new relationship...with Hoka OneOne Mafate!

After the whole 100km in my Brooks Trailblade....I was ready for a change.

My feet can no longer bear any more thoughts of further foot strikes in those shoes.

Can't blame them.

The 100km was very tough on 'em.

But then deciding to retire my Brooks Trailblade brought me back to square one with the issue of finding the IDEAL and PERFECT trail shoes.

(please refer to previous post regarding my gripes on finding the ideal shoe)

I was very certain I didn't want another pair of Trailblade. Neither do I want a pair of Cascadia (will explain this one in another post when I FINALLY do the write up review on my Trailblade).

I'm pretty much done with the whole minimalist shoe theme when it comes to the combination of ultras and trails.

It's just not worth it.

And frankly...who wants to feel the earth beneath the battered feet 80km into the race!?!?!?!

I know I don't.

So I asked around....did a bit of reading on trail shoe reviews.....and despite my initial repulsion, I decided I was gonna give Hoka One One a go.

Hoka One One is everything a minimalist shoe isn't.

For one....it has a bloody thick sole.

For another.....you are guaranteed to not feel that much under the sole.

I've seen quite a few people wearing them.....Winnie and Mo-maniac were amongst them.

Like every other trend that preceded, it was ugly at first sight.....then once you get used to seeing them, they began to look less tragic....then rather appealing.....and before you know it, you can't imagine life without it.

Hokas are kinda like that.

First.....you are appalled at how humongous-ly thick the soles are.

Then after seeing them on a few more runners, you start getting warmed up to the idea of the shoe and how it looks.

And then once people who swears by them keep on singing their praises.....they become a bit more appealing.

Once you've tried it....you can't imagine what a dumb arse you've been for sticking your nose up at it!

I don't think it's available in Malaysia yet.

Most people I know got it from Singapore....which by the way, unless you've managed to snag a pair from the old season which was massively discounted, they are ridiculously expensive.

I am thankful for Gracie who helped buy this pair of Hoka One One Mafate for me, retailed in the US of A at USD150.

(it isn't cheap.....but extremely affordable when compared to the repulsive price of SGD290. You do the math!)

I know they have been famously spotted around in the shade-your-eyes-or-go-blind-YELLOW but I rather liked the subtlety of the blue/white colour that I've seen Amy wearing at HK100.

I took it out for my very first wear-in at Kiara trails.

If first impression counts for anything....then I'd say I'm a true believer in LOVE at FIRST WEAR!!!

Amazingly light....even lighter than my trail blade.....
Plus great traction and grip.....holds up really well on loose soil and gravels.
Soles being not too soft nor too firm.

So far only issues being the fact that I can't lace them up tighter to prevent slippage of heels (which can be altered by replacing current shoe laces with lock-lace. This trick works every time!) and shoes getting dirty awfully easy (considering its white upper...but am sure once it's more worn in, I couldn't really be bothered by how un-clean it is).

Anyway watch this space.
Will do a FULL review after a 100km in the trail......most likely after TMBT (yes....signed up for the 100km).
I figured if I still love it after 100km, then this is a definite gem!!!!


Also...for Brooks fans out there....will be writing up on my Trailblade after I return from Kenyir Triathlon, happening this weekend.

To all tri-buddies heading up North for the weekend.....good luck and see you all soon!


Later!!!!!!

I'm a runner & I have runner's knees!

Runner's knee....or more jargon-ly known as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.

What izzit?

Well....most simply put, it's that annoying pain you get at the lateral side of your knees, just beneath the knee cap due to it rubbing against the lateral femoral condyle.

And guess what.....I have it....just like every other runner out there who complains of the annoying knee pain that occurs when one increases one's mileage carelessly.

In fact I've been tackling this issue since before TMBT last year.

But with some proper strengthening exercises and common sense of adequate REST and appropriate icing, I managed to get it under control and completed quite a few running events, on and off road.

However with Vibram HK100 training, I've been a bit lazy with my own rehab and physio that the knee pain sorta came back.

Anyway training for the 100km had me hiking and climbing stairs a lot more. It wasn't too much of an issue for my knee pain, fortunately.

Besides, I had more pressing issues of the occasional twisted ankle and was actively working on my proprioception and ankle strengthening instead. Therefore my VMOs were sorely neglected.

Can't exactly say my knees were too happy about competing in Vibram HK100.

But since that ultra, I've not been doing much running and instead been cycling a whole lot more.

I kinda forgot about the knee pain completely.

Only recently, I started dusting the dirt off my road running shoes and hitting the pavement again.

Been building up mileage rather slowly......like less than 15km of road running per week (which breaks down to about 5km runs, 3x per week). I spent most of my remaining training hours on bike or in trail....or in pool.

A couple of weeks ago (I blame the CNY hols), I ramped up the mileage to about 30-35/week. Not much in comparison to what I used to do....but it was a rather huge relative increase.....definitely more than the conservative (and advised!!!!) 10% mileage increment per week.

Then the pain started. 

Not so severe that it left me limping at the end of the run....but annoying nonetheless.

And I'm not gonna be the one that will take this lying down!

I'm attempting to actively deal with this issue while still maintaining my (some-what half baked) training schedule.

(I'm not quite sure what exactly I'm training for....a little bit of this and a little bit of that....and somehow at the end of it, I find that I have loads to train for!!!! And here I was complaining that my life is dull and boring....hmmm)

And since I'm actively dealing with it.....I might as well actively blog about it.

Not gonna dwell to much about what exactly is this condition about.....coz I'm sure Google does a much better job at describing all the causes, risk factors and what-nots.

Besides...this ain't that sorta blog. This blog is a venue for me to whine and talk about bullshit and so the trend shall remain.......

Anyway.....if one complains of lateral knee pain just behind the patellar.....a runner/cyclist/hiker/anything-that-involves-a-lot-of-repetitive-knee-flexion-and-extension-over-a-period-of-time.....and on physical examination does not offer anything much other than some lateral joint line pain or positive on patellar grinding....or maybe some swelling or so....I'd proceed with some radiological investigations.....cheapest and more readily available would be the plain x-rays.

And please tell whoever that is writing you your xray request form that you'd like weight bearing AP and lateral view....plus skyline/merchant's view.

(I'm starting to do these xrays routinely for almost all physically active patients coming in complaining of knee pain....)

And below are mine....

Skyline view of both knees. Take note that the patellar bilaterally are deviated laterally, with the left knee being at a more acute angle. Of course it doesn't surprise me considering my left knee is more of a bother at the moment than my right.

For comparison sake....

AP view, weight bearing. Yes I'm very aware of the early osteoarthritic changes seen at both knees. Thankfully when compared to similar xrays taken 2 years ago, nothing decline in joint spaces or increase in osteophytic changes. 

Left knee, lateral view. Yes...already noted the osteophytes at both poles of the patellar. Sigh.

So.....in dealing with it....you can deal with it via the short term manner (which is popping some painkiller and hoping it'll go away) or the long term manner.....which is proper rehab and physio.

As common as common sense go....employing the R.I.C.E. (rest.....ice.....compress.....elevate) techniques does wonders, although for some it also test one's patience.

Secondly....find out where's the imbalance.

Mine (as shown on radiographs) are due to VMO weakness in relative.

VMO, by the way, stands for Vastus Medialis Obliquus.

VMO is part of the Vastus Medialis, which is part of the Quadriceps. 

A larger, more detailed picture of where exactly is the VMO.

Sometimes is could be due to tightness of your ITB. So please do as necessary and stretch that bloody band. Although come to think of it, no harm stretching that (and also strengthening your Gluteus Medius as part of working out your ITB) and working your VMOs at the same time.

I love THIS site in its explanation on isolating the VMOs. In fact the below photos are from PhysioAdvisor website.

Pressing the knee down against a towel lets you isolate your VMO.....once you're used to identifying which bulge is the muscle you're trying to work on, you can progress to other exercises.

This is the one I usually use to tackle the VMO. It is the easiest (for me, anyway) and the least hassling.  Using a resistant band (I prefer theraband), I hook it to the affected side at the ankle and extend knee, focusing on contracting the quadriceps. Then I externally rotate the same foot, and lift the whole leg upwards (hip flexion) while isolating the VMO. 

Let's say I'm having a bit of pain but I kinda have this race coming up this weekend and I just wanna run it with the least amount of pain....but I'm kinda worried about taking painkillers coz someone told me it'll totally kill off my kidneys.....(btw, it'll take more than a couple of painkillers to kill your bloody kidneys.....I'm just saying!), then I'd tape my knees. It's kinda like buying insurance when you already have had a heart attack and still having frequent anginas.

You can simply Youtube how to tape your knees.....but for the heck of it, I'm gonna show you how I do mine....with the minimal amount of tape used....(I'm kinda cheap that way)

Currently am using Rocktape. I don't get any incentives from mentioning this particular brand but by means of experience with different brands of tapes, I find Rocktape does the job best. It has the stiffest "consistency" and if you get their H2O line, the best in terms of stickiness!!!! And if you're all about looks, it has the best patterns on them, hands down!!!

Measure the length of tape needed. For most people, you can get away with cutting just 10-15cm of tape.  My rule of thumb being that when measured, it should cover the vertical length of knee with a couple of centimeters extra at both ends.

I usually just cut 10cm. I told you, I'm cheap...Rocktapes don't come cheap!!!

Round the edges........

Tear at the middle of the tape.....

Relax the knee on extension.....palpate for the patellar.  The aim of taping is to try and shift the patellar medially.

Adhere the center of the tape to the center of the length of patella, at the lateral side of knee. 

As I pull the lower edges of the tape, curving around the patellar.....I'm gonna flex the knee. The aim is to put pressure to the tape, applying tension inwards/medially. Do the same for the upper edges of the tape. Do remember that the aim of this taping is to manually shift the patellar inwards...ie medially. 

In the end, it'll look something of a C-shape. It may take a few attempts to get it JUST RIGHT. Take it out for a short test run to see if the pain has been relieved with taping. I find that some people, to be on the safe side, will tape both sides of the knee....in attempt to really keep the patellar in position. My advice would be....try and see what suits you!

Anyway, since I've no issues with cycling and swimming....I so guess I'll take more rainchecks with my running.

Later!!!!!

Vibram Hong Kong 100km - 19-20th January 2013

*Better late than never I'd say...*

* My bib number.....I kinda like it that they printed the Malaysian flag on it. 


It was somewhere just before CP9.
Winnie and I were tackling yet another horrid long downhill stairs that just does not seem to have an end.
Our knees were barely coorperating and our ankles were way beyond functional.
We were just too near to the end to give up.
Right behind us, tackling that tumultuous journey down the hill was Azhar from Singapore.
Azhar did this exact race one year ago.

We looked back and yelled out to him......what was he thinking when he agreed to return and tackle these neverending hills?!!

Azhar got to the base of the hill....looked at both of us.....and surprisingly said, he had no recollection of this hill....or the one before.....even the one prior to that!
He only remembered the awesome view.

 * Winnie and I

* Me modeling the event T-shirt...which I really love!

 * The most important bit of my packing....the walking stick!

Well...I'm starting to think that all ultramarathoners function in this exact same way.
You only hang on to the good bits.....and the rough patches along the race course somehow just fades into oblivion and barely given another thought.

I frankly hope that I'd always remember how bad this race was.
So I better get on about blogging about it before all I can remember was the awesome view!

I stepped up to the start of the line with subpar readiness for the long journey ahead of me.
But I felt fresh.
My game plan was to run as minimally as I could get away with....and walk as fast as my legs can function.

The weather has been a blessing....for as I had yet again underpacked and had minimal warm clothings with me. Yea yea..nothing new.

Right from the very start, we had almost clear blue skies with the sun in its full glory.

* Just before entering the Maclehose trail

Up until the first CP, I tried to run as much as I can on the tar and asphalt road. Mind you, there were plenty....and trails were a bare minimal. Even if there were trail segments, it was more stone and less earth. This pretty much sums up the entire 100km route.

Considering each CP had its own cut off time, my immediate aim was to make it to each CP with enough time to chug down some Coke and loads of candies,

I didn't really have anyone to walk/run with for the first few CPs. I mean, I would be with someone for a while...then either got dropped or something or another....and I found myself mostly alone.

Which was fine.

* Running across the dam

I personally found the first 50km very doable and not too taxing.
By CP4, it started to get dark and I bumped into Ah Weng and his brother, and along a few other uncles, made our way together in the dark to CP5, which was 52km.

I was very happy to find Winnie and Foo (plus the rest) at CP5 fueling up before heading off for the longest segment of 13km before CP6.
The huge group of us started making out way out of CP5.
It was kinda disheartening when we found out that some runners have voluntarily pulled out at that check point citing various personal reasons for quiting.

But obviously none of us in that group was the sort who would quit...especially upon reaching the half way mark!

* The awesome view along Maclehose trail (I googled the name...apparently he was one of HK's previous governor.....or something along those lines)

Frm CP5 to CP6, it was all about long climbs up.
All the way up....then all the way down....and repeat many times for the whole 13km.

* My trusty headlamp...which battery life did not last very long. Three battery changes to maintain the brightness. Spot beats Storm hands down!

The view from the very top....was undeniably breathtaking....and I'd understand why for some people, they would return many times thereafter, because I too was very in awe of the view around me....
We made many pit stops of 2 minute break on the climb up.
I personally felt that it was not at all necessary but lets not cry over spilt milk.

The 13km took almost 5 hours to transverse.....and many of us had micturated (I'm sure for some, defecate) along the trail.
I know I did. Thank goodness for the pitch black darkness.

By the time we arrived at CP6, we were suddenly told by the marshalls that we only had 5 minutes remaining to cross the timing chip belt or risk being disqualified.

Imagine the state of anxiety and panic we were all in at that very moment.
We were 65km into the race and just this close to being DQed.

In the blur of the moment, everyone (and I SO mean EVERYONE) in the group got up and ran off helter-skelter!
I turned around and saw Winnie, just as confused and surprised as I was.
We were the only ones left.

We were 7km away from the next CP. We were given 3.5 hours.
None of us could run. Our ankles and our feet were this close to staging full blown mutiny.
We decided we would walk and try our darnest to complete as far as we can until completion or disqualification. Whichever that came first.

It was just the two of us, and it was bloody dark.
I was staring at the light from my Black Diamond Spot directly infront of my feet and just focusing on the light.
Sure, I don't see very far ahead but then again, in the dark and in the middle of the forrest and hills somewheree in HK, I'd rather continue staring at the light right in front of me.
Knowing that Winnie was just behind me gave me a lot of comfort.

We walked stealthly through the woods in the dark until we hear the loud music and cheers somewhere ahead and we knew we had reached CP7!

Very relieved to have arrived at another check point, we did not want to slack and the volunteers there did not know how long before disqualification time at CP8.
We hurried off knowing it is just 7km away but having no clue how long a time we have at our expense.
We trudged off, quietly.....both of us with the unspoken worry of not making the cut off time.

Halfway through our journey to CP8, dawn came and the sky began to lighten.
And with the light, goes my sleepiness.
Thank goodness.

Our spirits lifted upon arrival to CP8. The well-talked about Needle Hill was just before us and we were so freakin close to the very end.

Frankly....I didn't think the Needle Hill was as difficult as everyone says. I didn't even realize that I've ascended to the peak until I looked over and realized...SHIT, its now several kilometers of downhill stairs!

We climbed one more hill after Needle Hill, where Winnie said she'd write a complaint letter to whoever it may concern regarding the inconsideration to race participants for all the amount of hills there are towards the end of the race. Right......

* Needle hill.....not that tough after all....

* The tough part was what came after ascending to the peak of Needle Hill....

Finally approached CP9.....and I felt like I was gonna cry.

Last 10km more to go.

Conquer Tai Mo Shan and we're done!

It was starting to get cold and misty (hence the name of the bloody mountain) from there onwards.

* Somewhere up in Tai Mo Shan

Frankly....even up till now.....the last 10km was an absolute blur.
I remember wondering when the hell it would all end....and where the heck was the finishing line.
It was roughly a 6km uphill climb......and it was really cold and windy.
It was so misty that I can barely see what's 100m in front of me.
But that was ok....I wasn't very keen at that moment to know what other challenges lie waiting ahead.
I just want to get it done and over with.

Finally after getting right to the peak....it was a 4km downhill slope.
Usually I would be ecstatic to see a downhill slope and would gladly run all the way down.....except this time around I could hardly feel my feet and my ankles felt like it was gonna go kaboom!

It must have been the slowest and more torturous 4km downhill walk EVER in my whole entire running life!
Every step was painful. Every second seemed like eternity.
I felt like crying every other step or so.
It was good to have Winnie nearby reminding me how embarrassing it was to be crying 4km away from the end. And it would not make a good finishing photo.
Point taken.
Holding back the tears.

The trudge was eternal. My bladder was impatient.
I needed to micturate ASAP. Must there wasn't any toilet within sight and the bushes surrounding were kinda sparse.
I was not in the mood to be mooning half the local weekend warriors hiking up the mountain.

Told bladder to stick it up and continue to tolerate the increase in internal pressure....until opportunity to pee arises.

And opportunity did arise!!!!
Like 500m from the finishing line......but heck, when you need to go...you just NEED to go.
We went into the public toilet...freshen up for the upcoming flashes of camera.....and continued the journey with a little more oomph in our heavy steps.

And FINALLY.....emerged in front of us.....was the finishing line....the very image I had been looking forward to for the past one and a half days......THE END of the journey!!!!!

WE BLOODY HELL MADE IT!!!!!
IN 31 HOURS AND 1 MINUTE (you have to pardon our toilet time)!!!!!!
WE SUCCEEDED WHERE OTHERS FAILED!!!!
WE CONQUERED WHEN OTHERS THOUGHT WE COULDN'T!!!!!
.....and other self congratulatory pep talk one tells self when complete such a feat.

Winnie and I concluded.....
NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!


Later!!!!