Did not get to run much since returning from HongKong. Officially in panic mode because of work deadlines and piling assignments. Breathe...
Managed to get through two morning runs on Wed and Thurs in the trails. Short distances, approx 10 - 11km.
Planned for a long run this morning but got up too late and it was blazing hot. So eventually did an evening run. It was nice and cool in the trails. A couple of mountain bikers rode past and I happily eyed their strong quads and butts as they kept spinning up the slopes. I would have barely managed 3 revolutions and fallen off the bike...
Ran 1:37h, that would be about 13 - 14km I guess. Distances do not matter in the trail. It is always a joy to be in there, uplifting of spirits. :) Having the trails just 1min away from me makes me wonder why I would ever opt for a leisure road run in the day. I think I will have to start buying more trail shoes!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Hong Kong Marathon 2012
This was our
annual pilgrimage to Hong Kong for the Stanchart Marathon and a weekend of
shopping and eating. Being the auspicious Year of the Dragon, the commemorative
medal was much coveted and it did not disappoint. It looked every bit the
dynamic and prosperous dragon that Chinese believed it stood for. (For those
unfamiliar, the HKSCM is held at the end of the Chinese Lunar New Year each
year. Every participant gets a commemorative medal based on the horoscope of
that year.)
This was also my first race since Oct 2011. I did not particular train for it except for my regular runs. As always, the official race was to shop, eat, and then run. We had it down to a fixed routine of when to fly, where to stay, and what to do.
This was also my first race since Oct 2011. I did not particular train for it except for my regular runs. As always, the official race was to shop, eat, and then run. We had it down to a fixed routine of when to fly, where to stay, and what to do.
We were
flagged off on race day (5-Feb-2012) at 7:15am. It was uncharacteristically warm at the
start. In past years, the weather was cool and warmed up towards noon.
Yesterday, the sun came on fairly early. That, plus the body heat from the mass
of runner, plus my long-sleeved shirt and I felt like I was running in
Singapore. Right from the start, I needed to use the toilet. There were long
queues at each available porta-loos that I waited until the 5km point before
joining a line. And wasted 5min in the Q and using it. Grrrrowl. So then I had
to make up and recover that 5min. That meant an accelerating pace to catch up
on lost time.
10km point:
1:06h
Ok, was
6min behind time (assuming 6min pace). I managed to keep a 5min pace for the
next few kms and brought the time gap down to 3min.
20km point:
2:03h
21km point:
2:09h
Still 3min
behind schedule. Crap. Bit by bit, I closed the gap down to 2min, then finally back
on 6min pace timing.
30km point:
3:00h
Exactly.
I kept a
6min pace thereafter. It was so consistently 6min, I could have been a
metronome! My legs still felt ok, I hope they would not cramp towards the last
5km.
40km point:
4:00h
Not bad. This
year, I managed to run non-stop, over all the slopes, and did not stop other
than for water. I still had enough legs to pick up pace over the last 2km, but
unfortunately could not hit below 4:10h. I crossed the Finish line at 4:14h.
Official results: A1816 in race category MR1
Category position: 381/ 4501
Gender position: 20/ ??
Official gun time: 4:16:10
Net time: 4:14:05
Distance times (based on gun time):
10km: 1:07:31
21km: 2:11:23
30km: 3:02:47)
Official results: A1816 in race category MR1
Category position: 381/ 4501
Gender position: 20/ ??
Official gun time: 4:16:10
Net time: 4:14:05
Distance times (based on gun time):
10km: 1:07:31
21km: 2:11:23
30km: 3:02:47)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Last Run of the Week
All ready to hit Hong Kong this weekend for a race to the shops and eateries. Oh and by the way, there's a marathon 42km too. Ha.
We are going on our annual shopping spree in HK, with the run as a bonus secondary event. This morning I tried my road shoes (having been mostly in the trails the past runs). I went on the 13km loop around the Clementi park canal. The Mizunos started off light, then felt like they did not have enough cushioning. Not sure if it was because the shoes were rather old, or I was not used to running on the tarmac. By comparison, my Salomon trail shoes had much more support.
Conclusion: will stick my faithful Asics for the race. :)
We are going on our annual shopping spree in HK, with the run as a bonus secondary event. This morning I tried my road shoes (having been mostly in the trails the past runs). I went on the 13km loop around the Clementi park canal. The Mizunos started off light, then felt like they did not have enough cushioning. Not sure if it was because the shoes were rather old, or I was not used to running on the tarmac. By comparison, my Salomon trail shoes had much more support.
Conclusion: will stick my faithful Asics for the race. :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Another Morning First - Trail!
Rested a day on Monday, and managed to haul myself out of bed today for a run. Decided to try the trails on a weekday instead of road-chokeful-of-morning-traffic. I went on the MTB route which I did last Sat.
I explored the Wallace Trail, which was a wonderfully compact 1km. It had every obstacle imaginable packed in little distance - rocks, sand, stumps, roots, mini-stream, wooden planks and steps, and undulating terrain. There was no space to open up my stride. It took me 8 - 9min to clear that trail. But it was fun!
Ah the joys of early morning trails. The only bugbear was running face-in into invisible cobwebs... Yucks.
I explored the Wallace Trail, which was a wonderfully compact 1km. It had every obstacle imaginable packed in little distance - rocks, sand, stumps, roots, mini-stream, wooden planks and steps, and undulating terrain. There was no space to open up my stride. It took me 8 - 9min to clear that trail. But it was fun!
Ah the joys of early morning trails. The only bugbear was running face-in into invisible cobwebs... Yucks.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Trail Weekend
Saturday - had a make-up class at 10am. Squeezed in a 1.5h run around DF-ZH and home. Sort of enough to get the engine going and compensate for dinner yu-sheng later.
Sunday - hosting a lunch party so had to rush through a long run. Managed BT-MR round of 23km, and cut 5min off my usual time. The stress of having a 'deadline' to meet and get home.
More than my usual share of runs and trails for this entire CNY week. :)
Sunday - hosting a lunch party so had to rush through a long run. Managed BT-MR round of 23km, and cut 5min off my usual time. The stress of having a 'deadline' to meet and get home.
More than my usual share of runs and trails for this entire CNY week. :)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Resuming Morning Runs
Ok not bad, I managed two consecutive morning runs this week. Yesterday and today. Let's see if I can keep it up for tomorrow.
For the two runs, I went around BB East Ave 6, past my old house to the park canal, then up Ngee Ann Poly and home. The short stretch from my place to the main road always smelt so fresh & sweet. I guessed I could have gone into the trails in the mornings too, but the tarmac clocked a longer distance over the same running duration. That route took 1:18h, I reckon it was about 12-13km going at 6min pace.
Plan for tomorrow is to do the shorter trail loop.
For the two runs, I went around BB East Ave 6, past my old house to the park canal, then up Ngee Ann Poly and home. The short stretch from my place to the main road always smelt so fresh & sweet. I guessed I could have gone into the trails in the mornings too, but the tarmac clocked a longer distance over the same running duration. That route took 1:18h, I reckon it was about 12-13km going at 6min pace.
Plan for tomorrow is to do the shorter trail loop.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Exploring new trails
We managed to move into our new place on new year's eve and I just adore its location. I love it that I can just step out of the house and in 1:50min hit the trails. :) I love how the air is so fresh, and the surroundings so tranquil (I'm not one for noise and crowds). I explored the trails over a few weekends and loving it!
The trail from BT to MR is supposedly 10.9km one way. So a round trip would be about 22km. What I would do it run to MR, do a complete loop, and run home. I seemed to take forever for that distance! I averaged 2:45h, throw in a couple of toilet or water breaks and we are looking at a 3h run each time. Am I that slow? Once I attempted two loops in MR before heading home. It took me close to 4h!
There is another loop about 10+km which I do. It goes along the mountain bike trail at Dairy Farm, pitstop at the visitor centre toilet, cross to Zhenghua park, and back along Rifle Range Road. That takes me about 1:20h.
Then there is the usual tarmac road loop, which is about 1:20h too, but easier and longer. It should be about 12-13km.
I have also started to do lunges, push-ups and dips after each run. Hopefully they make me stronger to tackle the trails!
The trail from BT to MR is supposedly 10.9km one way. So a round trip would be about 22km. What I would do it run to MR, do a complete loop, and run home. I seemed to take forever for that distance! I averaged 2:45h, throw in a couple of toilet or water breaks and we are looking at a 3h run each time. Am I that slow? Once I attempted two loops in MR before heading home. It took me close to 4h!
There is another loop about 10+km which I do. It goes along the mountain bike trail at Dairy Farm, pitstop at the visitor centre toilet, cross to Zhenghua park, and back along Rifle Range Road. That takes me about 1:20h.
Then there is the usual tarmac road loop, which is about 1:20h too, but easier and longer. It should be about 12-13km.
I have also started to do lunges, push-ups and dips after each run. Hopefully they make me stronger to tackle the trails!
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