Trail Mix | Oxfam Trailwalker: lessons learned from training for my first 100km race
- Only a few months ago, running 100km would have seemed ridiculous to Mary Hui but now she is just a week away from running Hong Kong’s most famous ultra
If you had asked me last year whether and when I would compete in a 100km trail race, I would have dismissed the idea as crazy, something to be considered at least several years down the road.
That time frame has sped up dramatically and unexpectedly. Next Friday, I’ll be competing alongside my Gone Running-Joint Dynamics teammates in a women’s team of four in the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker.
As we count down to one of Hong Kong’s most gruelling and iconic races, here are some reflections on lessons I’ve learned over the past months of training for the Trailwalker.
Consistency, consistency, consistency
Flipping through the pages of my training journal, one thing in particular stands out: the consistency I’ve been lucky to have.
Without hard races to train for, the bulk of the past seven months or so have consisted of a lot of base building – crucial given that the longest I’ve ever run in one go is 50km. The summer months were an opportunity to build mileage and elevation, while holding back the temptation to push numbers higher for fear of injuries and burning out too early.