It was “massive” running over the Deepavali holiday / extended weekend – and my first LSD (anything above 15km is LSD to me!)! I took the Vibram KSO for a test run on Friday and managed three laps around the lake and a bit more to hit the 7km mark. Unlike the Bikila with some grooves on the soles, the KSO’s soles are as flat as a pancake and a tad thinner, so the two times I stepped on a stone, I let out a “yowl”. Anyway, it was still a good training run and I managed to hit an average of 5:23 min/km pace.
Kei Ming buzzed me on Friday night (out of the blue!) asking if I was interested in an LSD the following morning. I said OK (yeah, can you beat that???) on the proviso that we need to go “slow” since my highest mileage to date was 15km and the out-and-back course is 19.3km. I was not too worried about my fitness since I have been keeping up the 1.5-hour run-and-elliptical cardio training every Sunday. My concern was keeping the cramps at bay since my calves tend to seize up the nights after our adiNation Training Runs and those were only half the distance.
We started at just after 6 am from Bukit Aman heading towards Bank Negara, making our way up hill towards the Bukit Tunku hills crossing the Jalan Duta highway to Sri Hartamas. The double hills at Bukit Tunku and the last 2 long hills at Sri Hartamas before the turn around were manageable since we were going at a 6 min/km pace. Kei Ming’s initial plan was for a 6:30 min/km pace but since we were feeling strong, we kept the pace at 6-6:10 min/km. I got a can of isotonic drink once we got to the Petronas station to hold off the cramps – hey they can come after my run or later in the day but no way, can they show up on the way back! There are no cabs available at that hour!
I was not a pretty sight on the back course! I was holding well until the hill near the Matrade building but recovered a tad on the downhills. The climb at Bukit Tunku was another downer and Kei Ming had to wait for me to trudge up (sorry bro!). Once we got that behind us, the rest of the way towards Ban k Negara and Jalan Parlimen went well mainly because it was a downhill route. However, the sorry sight returned on Jalan Parlimen when the outer edge of my left calf cramped about 800 meters to the end and I was reduced to walking a fair bit before picking myself up. All in, we covered 19.3km in 1:59 hours for an average pace of 6:06 min/km (I got the info off Kei Ming since I started my Garmin late). Not bad for a first effort, huh? I was mighty pleased with myself (minus the few ugly incidents on the return journey).
I need a better fueling strategy the next time we go long. Perhaps more than ½ a can of isotonic (I shared with Kei Ming) – ¾ of a can? Or maybe ½ a can at the halfway mark and sips along the way though I have zero clue how I am going to manage holding the can for one hour! Or attempting to drink while running. I had my protein shake once we got back to Bukit Aman and rehydrated with water. I was hungry throughout the day even though I was eating my usual meals and portions – hey, the run gave me plenty of bullets to gorge on Saturday, Sunday and maybe even today! I definitely need to eat more for the 800+ calorie loss and a bit more to bulk up.
Post run, I was feeling good although the legs felt a bit tired but nothing too extraordinary. In fact, there was no soreness, which I attribute to my long cardio session conditioned body. I guess the stretching during Richard’s vinyasa yoga class after that also helped.
I ran in the Adidas Tempo since I have not built up enough mileage on the Bikilas even though I am beginning to “hate” shoes these days. My right knee seized up twice – the first time since I switched to the Vibrams – but it went away as we upped the pace. I feel so much more comfortable in the Bikilas but if I had run in them on Saturday, it is a guarantee that Kei Ming will have to double back with the car to pick me up! I was positively hating the shoes when we finished on Saturday. LOL! In the meantime, I will run the LSDs in the Adidas Tempo or the New Balance racer (why didn’t I think of this on Saturday?!) while clocking up the miles on the Bikilas and KSO.
There were some chafing on my chest/sports bra and lower back/shorts rubber band waist. Nothing too serious that a bout of Kiehls Acai Berry Damage Control Lotion (yes, expensive for body lotion) cannot repair. I may pop by Giant or Guardian on the way home for some baby oil.
I bumped into Lai, Aron, Yuki and their friends during my recovery run yesterday morning. They had already covered 10km when I got into Lake Gardens and were planning on an out and back to Sri Hartamas for their next 20km. They are training for the Penang Bridge International Marathon and Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in 2 and 4 weeks respectively. After a short and slow 4.63km recovery run, I finished the weekend with an easy cross training on the elliptical at the gym. There you have it – 30km of running galore during the extended weekend.
My hamstrings were a bit and sore yesterday and this morning – result of Richard’s class but Michael and I still managed to put in a good session. We worked with machines and started with the back.
Supersets of:
a) LF assisted chin ups
b) Technogym cable back row with iron bar
c) DB bend over rear delt fly
Supersets of:
d) Technogym leg press
e) Cybex prone leg curl
f) Technogym leg extension (I do not hate this as much as I did when we first started, not especially since this was the only machine I could use during my metatarsal fracture recovery.)
Supersets of:
g) LF chest press
h) Nautilus overhead shoulder press
i) Nautilus chest fly
Supersets of:
j) Precour bicep curl
k) Cybex Eagle abdominal
l) Nautilus abs crunches
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