tahura trail run, 21km. 10km.

my first race of the year. also my first international run of the year. i was going to bandung for a business trip. and i was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to run the 21km tahura trail run in bandung. i was undecided on the 10km before arriving in bandung as i thought i might be a tad bit too tired. 

im going to skip the work part and focus on the race part.

touchdown on friday and i was surprised by the cooling weather in bandung. lucky me i brought all longs and no shorts. i heard about a friend who wore shorts in banda aceh and had stones thrown at her, asked to leave indonesia. not wanting to stir up any controversy, i packed all longs, and it was a great decision. bandung's weather is somewhat similar to cameron highlands. and the race was high up in the dijuanda park, and it was way way chillier than cameron highlands up there. 

the 21km was alot of steep clims. we climbed from roughly 700m above sea level all the way up 1700m above sea level, and back down. it was a tough route, but an enjoyable one. the scenery was amazing. i was in awe. way up high, overlooking the entire city of bandung, it was beautiful. the trails took us through villages, cabbage patches, it was really an amazing experience. the trails were punishing but the view was rewarding. i loved every single bit of it. 

my shoes were however the nightmare part of my run. on thursday i did training in the rain. so my asics were drenched. i had to bring my nikes, which my run buddies know i hate. i really hate my nikes. so the entire time i was running, i could feel my arch hurting, to be more precise, burning.the hike up was slow for me. the running downhill was slow for me too. my shoes aren't trail running shoes, so there were parts i had to go super slow. there were parts where i slipped one too many times. but when we came out at a pavement which went for about 4km, that was where i could pick up speed. 

i didn't place, but then again, i did not expect to place. i didn't push myself. i definitely did not deserve to place. i managed a 6th place though. although yes i do have that thought of kicking myself for not pushing harder. 

after my 21km, i decided to run the 10km. i loved the trail so much, this time, i wanted to take some photographs. so, on sunday, i got dressed, and before i knew it, i was at the start line. i ran, but the trails were not the same. 

we didn't get the overlooking-bandung view. the view was different. there was one in particular that i liked which was where we ran through a path with yellow flowers forming a wall on both sides of the pathways. it was beautiful. 

but there were people behind me, so photographs were difficult. so i just ran. my trail parts were slow. i had to let people pass me. i really should get trail running shoes. the whole time i was thinking just that. people buy trail running shoes for a reason. i had to let 2 girls pass me. when we came out at the same pavement, which was a 4km pavement before the finishing line, that was when i started chasing. i caught up to the 2 girls in front of me but didn't manage to catch one more girl who was way ahead. managed to place 2nd. my very first podium finish. i was delighted. i was more than delighted. 

so in one weekend, i managed to strike 2 things off my new year goals - run an international run and place top 3 in one of the runs. 

i enjoyed bandung alot. i didn't manage to see bandung because of work. nex year, i will be back, to do better in the tahura trail run and to see bandung.