3 weeks to Phuket Marathon

After the final 36km LSD on Sunday, my mileage should be tapering down. I will be doing 25km in MR for the second weekend(June 4) to race day, and 16km in BG for the final weekend(June 11) before race day. Looking at my Running Log, I realized I hit 83km last week...wow, not sure if I have ever exceeded 80km weekly mileage before...that must be my new weekly mileage record...:))

Monday 29/05: My legs felt ok after the LSD on Sunday, and I went for a 11km recovery run to burn off excess calories (seems like its getting difficult for me to burn off calories these days....maybe my running is getting more efficient, or the workouts are not HARD enough, or I am just eating too much junk?....hmmm). I started off at about 5.30pm, and the sun was still up. It was warm, and I did try to put on my oakley shades to protect my eyes...hmm, just cannot get used to wearing shades to run...seems like my eyes cannot breathe, and I do feel more warm because it blocks off the wind to my face...guess I will never look like a tri runner lor...haha. I ran around the usual 10km loop near my house, and extending it by an additional 1km or so. There were quite a number of runners on the road even at that time. My legs felt hard at the end, after pounding on the concrete pavement for 9km or so...really bad surface for running. I tend to do better in runs which allow me to run on tarmac, and I find that I can go much longer without aches on road tarmac. Upon reflection, SCSM gave me early cramps along East Coast Park because of the hard concrete surface we had to go on...hmm, hopefully I can get better cushioned shoes to save my legs if I am to run on concrete pavements for most of my training.
Distance Ran: 11km ____Time:57min_____Pace:5:11min/km


Tuesday 30/05: My hamstrings and butt felt achy this morning...hmm, could it be DOMS? Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. My legs were feeling good just after the long run on Sunday, and the whole of yesterday...only experienced soreness today. Went down to SAFRA MF in the evening for MK training...a 15km run up to Mt. Faber. The full troop NTUC managers were there... Yusof, Mida, Wilna and Carmen. They briefed about our upcoming prelims and recce trip in July (20-23) as well as getting montrail shoes this Saturday at Campers' Corner. It seems that we have to start equipping ourselves for the cold climb up MK...golves, long-sleeved shirts, hydration, food, proper shoes, etc etc? The large group of SAFRA Runners were also having their run into Canterbury/Labrador but I was not joining them this evening.

The 8 of us (DO, Henry, Yulan, Roland, Ronnie, Yee Shen, Timothy, myself) along with Ben started off at 7.05pm. We ran at a good pace down along Henderson Road, Harbourfront and then up MF via Kampong Bahru. It was a good experience for those who have not climbed up MF from that side. Ben enjoyed his run up together with myself and David. We waited on top for a while for the rest to reach, before heading down along the more gentle, but longer left side down to Morse Road. Ben shared with us that MK is similar to MF from the Morse Road side, where there's a short steep upslope, and then there is a long, more gentle downslope. Once out onto Morse Road, we picked up the pace and soon Ben was in front, with me following him from a distance. It was a good run up the slopes of Telok Blangah Rise for Ben, Yulan and myself who were leading at that point. Once the slopes were done, Ben surged ahead to the ClubHouse. I checked my pedometer upon reaching the ClubHouse, and it was showing 10km...great. Just another loop of 5km to finisih the run. I did that loop in about 22min, just after Ben's 21min+. Took an overall time of 1hr20min to finish the 15km slight-moderate hilly route. The rest of the team came back shortly within 5-10min intervals.
Distance Ran: 15km______Time: 1hr20min______Pace: 5:20min/km


Wednesday 31/05: This was the 4th consecutive running day for me...I know its against my training principles, but I needed to do this anyway :). Met with DO at SAFRA MF, and while waiting for bbmon, we did a slow warm-up jog along the 5km route of Telok Bangah Rise -> Harbourfront -> Henderson Road. We reached the ClubHouse at about 7.15pm...still early... we chatted and stretched a little while waiting for bbmon. bbmon actually sms-ed DO to say she was coming, but I brought my phone for the run instead...so didn't receive her message. We finally went for the run at 7.40pm on our own. We did a tempo pace for this second leg into the Canterbury Estates and then back to ClubHouse via Henderson Road. It was a warm and humid night. I had a good workout from the 15km run this evening.
Distance Ran: 5km_______Time: 30min______Pace: 6min/km
Distance Ran: 10km______Time: 51min______Pace: 5:06min/km