Low mileage week

Starting from last week, my running mileage will be decreasing as quite a lot of time will be given to stairs climbing for the 2 weekdays of MK Climbathon Training. We have to reach a stage of doing at least 15sets of 30flloors in about 2hours. I don't enjoy stairs climbing, and will be missing my runs more....hmm, absence will make the heart grow fonder...how?

Monday 10/07: Ran my 'Kampong' loop with Beverly, who also has very low weekly mileage of less than 10km sometimes. Weather was good, and after our usual 1st km of chatting and jogging to warm up, I was running ahead to be the 'carrot'...hehe. Because I ran quite short on Sunday, my legs were still feeling fresh, so my pace was faster....that made Beverly work harder too...haha. As usual I ran an extra 500m into the estate along Braddel Rd. so as to have her be in front for a while. We will normally get back together at around the Methodist Church junction. From there I will move off ahead and will walk near the Kovan area while waiting for her to catch up. She will normally be very kan-chiong when she is ahead... so I will once again move up all the way to Lorong Ah Soo and then all the way back home. The loop is 10km with some extra entrances into various private estates. I could feel some nagging pain in my right sole after 7km....hmm, my Cumulus VIII is already near 900km, and should be retired immediately...haiz, haven't got a new pair to replace it....the shoes still feel and look very good, just that the forefoot cushioning is probably gone by now. Beverly finished the 10km in 1:03...one of her best times, and I didn't pause my watch for the traffic stops... must be the good weather :)
Distance Ran: 10.5km____Time Taken: 1hr01min____Pace: 5:49min/km


Tuesday 11/07: Met up with the NTUC management and sponsors Campers Corner to get a final briefing for the Mt. Kinabalu recce trip from Jul20-23, as well as to collect new training top and travelling T-Shirts. Xavier and Kelvin shared some tips about trekking up MK and effects of Air Mountain Sickness (AMS). After the 30min briefing, we went for our stairs climb training. I planned to do 10sets, but ended up doing 8sets of 30 floors in 1hour....quite a good workout at a steady pace....very necessary for actual race day. The strategy for me will be to go slow and steady, and delay the onset of AMS as well as 'hitting the wall'. I did most of the 240floors with double steps, thus strengthening my quads. Wearing thights and Adizero for the first time to climb stairs made it feel much easier. I am still undecided what shoes to wear for the MK recce... will likely test both the Montrail Sustina and Adizero SN. If I am acclimatized up to Laban Rata on day 1, I will be allowed to move up to Lowe's Peak on day 2 to test my body further...I hope I am well conditioned for those altitudes.
Distance Climbed: 240flrs____Time Taken: 1hr____Pace: 4flrs/min


Wednesday 12/07: Yikes...cannot tahan...didn't run much. Sneaked in a quick 10km run near my place before my dinner appointment. Since I was to run alone (which is quite rare these days), I took the opportunity to do a time trial with my new Adizero SN. It was HOT HOT...the sun was blazing down, and I really felt the heat. Sweated buckets when I finished, and it sure was pretty satisfying.
Distance Ran: 10km___Time Taken: 47min___Pace: 4:42min/km


Thursday 12/07: Because of some delays, I could not make it on time to Bishan for the stairs climb...so went to SAFRA MF to join the gang for some slopes instead. As usual, there was a big bunch, with a few new runners. With AHM and SCSM looming, running clubs tend to get more new members who are looking to tap on good training programs and group runs to prepare themselves for these important events in the local running calendar. Because a number of them were going to Pattaya Marathon this weekend, it was a short 9km to Labrador Park. I tried on the new SAFRA Running top and NB thights. The gear were light and reasonably good. I chatted a bit with the new members and derrick initially, and soon Derrick and I picked up pace to join the front group of DO, cfred, Ong, chin huat, and the HP guy. Once into Labrador Park, we went up the slopes from the carpark side, and then onto the Park itself for 2 sets of the 800m loop. While the rest ran back to finish off their 9km, I did 2 more sets up the slopes from the tunnels side, whilst DO did even longer to Mt. Faber. As I did a run on Wed already, I thought I should just go easy and do an aerobic pace. I did the 2 sets in solitude...nice sometimes to be just running alone, panting hard, feeling the wind, listening to strange sounds...hahaha. I don't normally talk when I am into the run (unless it is a social or fun run), only at the initial stages and after the run. I finished my approximate 11km run at the ClubHouse, and joined the rest to do stretches. Did dinner with the guys, and wished all of them the best for their Pattaya Marathon trip.
Distance Ran: 11km____Time Taken: 1hr____Pace: 5:27min/km