It's been a while: My journey to CCC 2022
Wow, I can’t believe that it’s been almost 4 years since my last blog post!
Yup, the last post I wrote was in October 2019 and it was about the miscarriage I suffered. It feels like a lifetime away: The virus I won’t name, one American and two Canadian elections, Abu Dhabi GP 2021 (IYKYK), a successful pregnancy and natural delivery of a healthy baby girl who is now 2, 2+ years of breastfeeding and counting, a new job and now Sienna preparing to start primary school in September (CP which is the equivalent of P1 in the French system).
Am I still running? Of course! Except for the duration of my pregnancy (that is something I can talk about in a later post), I never stopped running. Even when there was no race in sight, even when I thought I could be stuck in Singapore for years, I still kept running. Along with my husband and kids, running is one of the reason I was able to keep my head high when the weight of restrictions, authoritarianism, medical segregation and isolation was at its peak.
In early 2022, I took a chance and decided to take my spot (initially meant for 2020) for UTMB’s CCC race, which is a 100km mountain race through the Alpes starting in Courmayeur (Italy), via the magical Lac Champaix (Switzerland) to finish in the heart of the small village host of 1924 Winter Olympics, Chamonix (France). When it was obvious that most of Europe was opening up and that the worst we could get on the way back to Singapore was a 10 day home quarantine, we booked some flights. Our first trip since 2019!
Training for CCC was not what I had dreamed of. Far from it. I had always told myself that when I would get into that race, I would try and get to the mountains as much as I could for specific training. I wanted to go for weekends in Chiangmai (Thailand) and Hong Kong, then arrive in Europe at least a month in advance to train in the Alpes. For logistical and financial reasons, it was not possible.
I then had to resort to Singapore’s Everest: Bukit Timah Hill (BTH), which stands at a whopping 164m above sea level as well as HDB stair climbs! These have worked well for me in the past for races in Hong Kong or the Blue Mountains which have short climbs and actual stair cases, but they were the junior leagues. To give you a comparison, Ultra Trail Australia, a race in the Blue Mountains, had 4400m in elevation gain. CCC, 6155m which is almost 50% more.
Anyways. I did what I could with what I had. But even all the long runs I had planned were often cut short. After 3-4 hours out I would get a call from Luke imploring me to come back because the girls were asking for me. I often felt really guilty (mum guilt is real) to not be spending more time with them and to “ruin” our family time. I think my longest run was probably 40km. I also got sick a bunch of times. Nothing serious, but you know a bunch of random viruses (including the one I won’t name, which was mild for me) probably due to the “immune debt” they talked about which sidelined me for a few days up to a week at a time. I had to face the reality that I would not be competitive and just adjust my expectations. Making it back to Chamonix in one piece was now my only goal.
Anyways, we FINALLY made it to the airport and off to Europe we went. I can’t describe the feeling of finally getting out of Singapore after 3 years. For someone who always have at least two plane tickets under my name, those were very challenging times. On day 2 of our trip, it was then announced that home quarantine was lifted and that we would only have to do a rapid test on our way back. Great timing!
Fast forward to the race, I was in a pretty good headspace. I had no expectation and decided to just go with the flow, give everything I had but be prudent so that I could finish and enjoy the rest of my trip with the fam. I soaked in everything, from the start line feels, the camaraderie, the most breathtaking scenery. Yes it was hard, very hard. The climbs were long, like hour+ long. The descents were the most technical I had ever done. I ended up being on my feet for more than 19 hours, which is by far the longest I have ever run for. But I stayed happy and strong the whole time and finished with a smile. I did not get the famous Chamonix finish that I was dreaming of because it was like 4am and barely anyone was at the finish line, but still. Luke was there waiting for me with a sleeping Sarah in the baby carrier and Sienna sleeping in the car.
This is what I wrote after the race
We spent another 10-ish days in France and had the best time. It made me realise how much I love Europe and how proud I am of my European ancestry, which is actually a mish-mash of English, Sardinian, Irish, Scandinavian and Iberian according to the DNA test I took haha
The race reignited my passion for running and racing, but also made me shift my focus to roads rather than trails and mountains. As much as I love trail running with all my heart and I am probably much more suited physically for it, roads are just more convenient and suited for my life right now.
Next post (which I promise won’t be in 4 years) will be about my journey to the Gold Coast Marathon, stay tuned :-)
