Final Month To KL Marathon: Sunday LSD

It is exactly 1 month to the KL International Marathon (KLIM) 2006. I had my LSD today to Marina South as part of preparation for the 42.195km distance. There was a small group today, with a lot of the MF Runners tapering for the Feb12 HK Marathon. So it was Kumaran, DO, Eileen, Claire, Hui Ling and myself to do the full 26km route of:

[Clubhouse -> Henderson Rd -> Tiong Bahru Park -> Havelock Rd -> Clark Quay -> Esplanade -> Esplanade Second toilet (U-turn) ->Esplanade -> Marina South (Marathon route) -> Keppel Rd -> Harbourfront -> Henderson Rd -> Clubhouse]. Divey, alanyeo, Lee, jaime and Ong will do the same route, but skipping the Marina South portion for a 15km distance.

We started off promptly at 7.30am, and after the usual traffic stops along the initial part of this route, the front pack broke free at Kim Seng Bridge (Zouk). Kumaran was in front, with Tay, me and DO. Hui Ling, Eileen and Claire were just behind. When we reached The Esplanade, Tay and the rest went for a break whilst we continued to the 2nd toilet at Marina Promenade. We reached that U-Turn Point in about 50min, covered about 9km....quite a nice pace. After waiting for the rest to arrive, we continued the next leg to Marina South. The sun was up but with the cool winds, it was pretty pleasant. We maintained the same pace and had another water stop at Clifford Pier toilets. Nearby we caught a crime scene for a murder. After the break, Divey, alanyeo and the rest ran back to ClubHouse, skipping Marina South. The 6 of us continued to Marina South for an additional 10km distance (most of it being the marathon route for Standard Chartered Marathon).

We had our final water stop at Victor's SuperBowl...topped up our tanks with 100plus. A quick break, and off we went again....and we came out through Prince Edward Road, and then Shenton Way. Claire and Eileen decided to take a cab back to Clubhouse because of nagging knee pains. Kumaran, DO, Hui Ling and me continued on for the final 6km or so..along Keppel Road, HarbourFront, passed Morse Road and then round the bend up the slopes of Telok Blangah Road. The weather was cool, and that helped us maintain our good pace. We reached the ClubHouse in 2hr25min of running time. I estimated we covered 25km. Had a quick stretch, wash-up and makan at the nearby Hawker Centre before making our way back home. DO was so inspired by Chi Running, that he asked to be dropped off at Raffles Place to get the book. Hope that he can pick up a kill or two to allow him to have many hours of injury-free and efficient, ergonomical running.

Distance Ran:25km ___Time:2hr25min____Pace:5:48min/km
Average HR:154bpm___Max HR:180bpm__KCal:1,873KCal