ONH #11: Tapering Night

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PHOTO SLIDESHOW by DO

The final night run of Operation NightHawk was greeted with enthusiastic trainees who were looking forward to their Sundown 'full-dress rehearsal' in night conditions. The air was heavy and humid, with the haze conditions only slightly better than in the earlier part of the day. The NightHawk finisher tops were distributed to qualifying trainees who have achieved at least half of the sessions, and all were pretty excited at claiming the prized possession. There will be another round of distribution for those who qualify at the final 12th NH session.

With the Tapering Phase in swing, the NightHawks were to be running at a reduced distance, albeit not at a reduced intensity. Armed with race-day equipment, gear, running shoes, Pace Bands, all were to go for their target race pace for 18km (Half-Marathoners), 25km (Full-Marathoners), 25km (Ultra-Marathoners). After the group photos, the respective timing groups were flagged off to perform their 'thing' in what would be rather challenging atmospheric conditions :D

The runners held their paces well for the first half of the run, and were bunched up in their various groupings. It will be great if they could maintain those groupings on race day, buddying-up one another at least for the initial stretches. There were a number of groups training at ECP as well, possibly tapering off for Sundown too. The warm air was making us sweat profusely and many toilet visits were made to cool ourselves off. The fluids in the hydration belts were quickly consumed, but still the throats felt dry and the lips quite parched.

To prepare for race day conditions, we were avoiding stops of long duration, in order not to break the momentum and distort the pace. Drinking on the run has become quite natural for the NightHawks by then, and most were keeping to their paces quite consistently. In the second half, I moved up from the 4.30h group closer to the 4hr group. It was nice to see that with just two weeks to Sundown, the trainees were all running strong, and holding well even in off-perfect conditions.

The half-marathoners were comfortably conditioned for this run, and all did very well to finish within the estimated timings. I was pushing the pace a little for the final 9km to run along with the 4-4:15hr runners. They were going strong, and were striding along nicely down the final stretches. We completed our 25km within the average 4hr pace of 5:41min/km (according to my Garmin 405), capping a nice solid run. The finishers were happy with their performances and ability to sustain the intensity required. More runners from the 4:30h, 5:00h, 5:30h and 'Happy Runners' groups returned, each with their stories of the night, and how the run was tougher compared with the previous night run along cooler conditions in MacRitchie.

Everybody completed the training by 12.30am, one of the earliest we have ended for a night run. It was made possible with the determination and commitment of the trainees to complete their runs within the stipulated turning and finishing timings....such were the strength and conditioning these NightHawk trainees have to be able to manage their paces to within close ranges of the targets. The Training Crew, who have been training alongside with the NightHawks, were most impressed and happy with their progress, and more importantly, their commitment and determination to go through with the training sessions, whether they were day or night, irrespective of terrain and impending weather conditions. The few who have sustained minor injuries were also at training to rehabilitate and build up for race day. They were not about to give up on the race, and will seek to complete, instead of compete.

Completion of the Sundown Marathon would be in itself an accomplishment for all the NightHawks, as many were attempting a night marathon for the very first time. Next weekend will be the final and 12th installment of Ops NightHawk, the finale to what would be one of the more comprehensive and eventful marathon training programs Team FatBird has conducted. We hope to see as many of the NightHawks turn up with the Ops NightHawk finisher tee to celebrate the successful conclusion and completion of their training, and to recognize the dogged effort, sweat and tears that all NightHawks have put in. Bring On Sundown...The NightHawks Are Prepared.

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