Lake Garden Run – 6 October 2011

Distance: 9.86km

Timing: 54:51 for 5:33 min/km pace

Much better. Less painful. So yeah, it was slow but we’re getting there. Hopefully.

Warm up – 1km

Warm up jog from the Bukit Aman car park to LG and praying fervently for hope and healing.

Mid miles – 6.5km

As I couldn’t stomach running 4 laps around the lake, I opted for the bigger loop from LG through Bird Park to Planetarium to the National Mosque and back to LG via Bird Park. The ankle was holding up really well (PTL! And the power of prayer), in fact, there was no pain (touch wood), just a lingering ache/tightness/niggle. The temps was low after the overnight rain and I really enjoyed the run – this was another of my coming-back run and there was no expectation on timing. Even the climbs at Planetarium and the school after the National Mosque didn’t daunt me and I actually felt brisk/fast on the latter.

Finishing – 2.3km

One lap around the lake to top the run; I was hoping to clock an even 10km but alas, it was slightly short. Oh well, this is probably nothing compared to running pain free and enjoying the morning.

After thoughts

There’s an inner itch on building up the mileage but conventional wisdom would say lay off that for , maybe, another week for the ankle to fully heal and strengthen. It has been a while since I did a long run and I know long runs are good for building endurance and a confidence booster to know that I can complete a shorter distance. We’ll play it by ear tomorrow and Saturday.

The ankle coupled with things at the office left me highly strung and stressed and explains the “downer” feeling, zero motivation and appetite. Guess what I had for dinner last night?! 2 pieces of Chinese pastry (black sesame seed filling). Definitely not the way to go Sue. I’m conscious of the need to fuel and hydrate well for my overall wellbeing and for my workouts. Yeah, knowing something is different from actually doing it.