Two Down, One More To Go....

It was another LSD that I set myself up to run on Saturday morning. The usual gang (Jamie, Geraldine, Ben, Pelle and myself) start off as early as 5.15am. Jamie will do a 20k and come back in time for his RunnersMalaysia program and Geraldine will do the same since both of them had ran a 32k last week. Pelle will try to use this as a recovery run since he just came back from the Great Wall Marathon. Ben and myself will cover at least 25k and more, but for me I had oredi set my mind up to do a minimum of 30k or 3hrs+ on the road. Rashid was with us too and also planning to do a 20k+. Wong sifu did not turn up this morning, guess he had work late again.

We set off together but in no time Jamie, Geraldine, Ben and Pelle had set a faster pace leaving Rashid and myself trailing behind. Especially for Jamie and Geraldine, this two had become the speedy gonzales, while Ben is fast getting his form back after a short break from running.

I was running at a talking pace with Rashid and in no time, the fast pack of 4 are no way in sight. We talk to each other along the route and that actually take my mind off from worrying about my pace on whether I am running too fast or too slow. When we reached the Jalan Duta junction crossing over to the Govt complex, my watch shows 34mins. I told Rashid we have been running a faster pace than usual and I am suppose to do a 30k run today. Anyway my legs are feeling OK, no sign of tiredness or any pain showing that I have recover from my last week high mileage.

As we crossed the junction, Pelle was in sight and I guessed he was already slowing down. Could be due to the tireness and leg muscle soreness. We caught up with him at the KL Mosque and he said that both his legs are not responding well due to soreness. He will turn back to Bukit Aman carpark and will not push ahead with us for the 20k route.

Once passed the mosque Rashid had fallen behind a bit and I continued running alone until I reached the Petronas kiosk. Bumped into Ben and asked where to buy some water since the kiosk is not open for business until 6.30am. Told him to get it at the opposite where there are some stores opening early and getting ready for the breakfast.

I did another loop behind the Petronas kiosk and as I completed the lap, saw Jamie and Geraldine waving at me signalling that there are two bottles of water which is for both Rashid and myself. By now Ben had ran off alone, guess he is setting a very fast pace while Jamie and Geraldine were still running together. So nice of them, I guessed Ben must have bought it just now.

After the quick water stop, both Rashid and myself set our way back to Bukit Aman carpark. After about 1k, he had fallen behind and I was running alone again. Was taking it easy all the way to the carpark and had my water stop before going out for a 4 lap run around the lake via the Carcosa route.

As I was heading towards the carpark, Ben was out for his lap around the lake. I told him to go ahead and not wait for me. Had a chat with Geraldine at the carpark before heading out again.

Did 4 laps around the lake via the hilly route along Carcosa. It is really beating up my legs and body. I felt some poking pains at times on my left knee and heal. The pain comes and go, and it is more obvious if I push my pace faster when on downhill. I guessed the past weeks of high mileage especially on the Sat runs are taking a toll on my legs especially the left leg which is weaker. Ran at a slower pace just to ensure I dun aggravate it and causes too much pain and create an injury. I continue running that way till I complete the 4 laps.

After the 30k run and almost 3.5hrs on the road, my fitness and stamina level are still good. I dun feel very tire and I believe I can still easily sustain another 30mins of running without hitting the wall. Although my pace will get slower but that show signs that I am at a level where my body will not tire out after 30k or 3.5hrs running. The good thing is there are no signs of muscle stiffness and cramps (my biggest fear that will hit me)

Overall I was happy with my condition after the run. The legs and body are slowly peaking to the level where it can sustain the distance and the number of hours on the road. The Saucony Triumph 4 that I used continue to perform and responding well throughout the race. Guess it is all ready for me on race day.