Green Silence: Unsealed

I was hoping to clock a long run today and decided to give my errant pair of Green Silence a shot. It was bought to be my long distance racer, but after a couple of underwhelming runs which resulted in my calves tightening up, I temporarily shelved them. Hopefully, they will prove their worth in today's run.

Botanical Gardens - medium long run

Jog to the gardens

Light drills

10 x small loop + 4 x big loop

Light drills and exercises

Bonus lap

Shoes: Brooks Green Silence

I actually woke up with sore leg muscles despite taking yesterday off. During the jog to the gardens, I did suffer a bit. Thankfully, the soreness subsided by the time I was ready to begin the long run. My pacers for the day were Yeoh and Neoh. My initial plan was to do 20 small loops from the other direction. Regardless of direction, the sheer number of laps meant we would have to be mindful of the pace.

Whatever plans for careful pacing quickly went out the window. Neoh's loud footsteps were messing up my rhythm. Imagine someone scratching their nails on a blackboard, loud and jarring footsteps probably have a similar effect on me, especially when they are shadowing me throughout my run. I was getting agitated and annoyed. Normally if this was a race situation I would have just put in a hard surge and dropped the offender, but doing that now might have toasted my training. I needed a plan fast.

Subconsciously I was already cranking up the pace, perhaps in hopes of getting away from the nasty sound. That didn't work, so by the third lap, I decided to switch things up. I turned towards the large loop. Hopefully I can gain some rhythm. And so it went, I alternated 2 small loops with a big one. Somehow, doing the big loop from the other direction helped. The long downhill at the end of the loop helped a bit in recovery. Since each big loop is about twice as long as a small loop, I was starting to feel the strain at the equivalent of lap 16. I decided to do 2 more, with the last lap being a fast but relaxed effort.

By this point, only Yeoh stuck around, in fact he was still right on my heels halfway through the last lap. The competitive side of me panicked a bit, I didn't wanna get outkicked. Somehow, I managed to widen the gap a bit after that as his footsteps fell away. I was able to relax a bit. To his credit, he surged again near the end but I managed to hang on.

Since this was my longest run since my 21k in KL, I am quite pleased with today's effort. Other than that, my Green Silence finally came through! They felt much better than both the Launches. It might be my marathon shoe yet, that is if it survives the training...

The Boot's on the Other Foot

Since I was laid low by sickness more than a week ago, I have not set foot in Botanical Gardens. With tigers baying for my blood, it's time to answer the call.

Botanical Garden - Aerobic run

Jog to the gardens

45 min easy pace

Jog back

Shoes: Brooks Launch (newer)

Like the previous runs post-illness, the jog to the gardens was a slog. I don't think my gym soreness was the main reason, I just felt really heavy. At the meeting spot, Yeoh, Siau Tieh, Neoh were already waiting for me. I was a bit worried about being able to stay the course.

I planned to follow the workout prescribed in my programme, that meant 16 small loops with the first 9 easy and last 7 at 15k to half pace. I didn't really know how I would fare jumping into the deep end, but at the very least I must last longer than the other 2 post comeback runs.

The first lap was really really slow, the slowest I have run there in years. I picked up the pace for the subsequent laps, though they were still slow. Despite that, I could feel a bit of strain. Once I got past the halfway mark, I did feel a bit hopeful of completing the run. That hope got stuck in the pipeline a couple of laps later though. After 1 lap at a faster pace, I was toast. I stepped off just after completing 10 laps, leaving Yeoh and Siao Tieh to forge on.

Kudos to Yeoh for outlasting me this time. Anyway, today was still an improvement so no complaints.

Kenyan Style

I was forced to take a break from training for more than a week due to sickness and some leftover malaise and I gotta be honest, coming back was hard. Physically, my body just felt tired but the damage was worse mentally. I found it easier to say 'not today' and keep pushing training off. I finally mustered enough gumption to step into the gym yesterday, and it wasn't pretty. I could barely do a couple of miles, never mind the long run I originally intended. The pace was anything but hot too.

After pulling the plug on that torture, I resolved to train hard, in the morning bla bla bla. Well, morning came, I got up and my inner couch potato was up to no good again. And that's despite it being absolutely beautiful running weather outside. It was already 9 but the sunshine was just warm enough with no trace of haze, since it rained the night before there was a really cool breeze too. With an epic inner struggle, I reminded myself of something I read somewhere, Kenyans tend to do their second daily run just before 10am. Living in Malaysia, that won't be possible most of the time, so I better grab this opportunity to emulate them. That sealed the deal, or maybe I embarrassed the inner couch potato too much with my half assed excuse, either way I was running on a nice grassy field with the wind in my hair. Ok, I lied, the field was crap and filled with ruts and roots and that breezy feeling lasted barely 2 laps before I struggled. 6 laps in, I was ready to throw in the towel. Somehow, I lied some more to myself and managed to sneak in a fartlek for the next few laps. All in all, I can't complain much, a bit more money in the bank.

On the Edge

Today's weather was simply the best by far since I started this training plan. While it was slightly hazy in the morning, early afternoon showers came to the rescue. As a welcome side effect, the temperatures felt slightly cooler. With such nice conditions, I was looking forward to putting in some good miles today. Alas, training is like walking a fine line between soaring or crashing and I am probably close to the edge now.

Medium aerobic run - Botanical Gardens

Jog to Botanical Gardens

Easy drills

17x small loop

Light exercises

Jog back

Shoes: Brooks Launch (newer)

Despite being a bit fatigued from the previous workout, I was shooting for 20 small loops. To shake things up, I wanted to run counter to the usual direction. Joining me for this run is once again Ah Yeoh. However, there will be more company too in the form of Ah Wong, Ah Choon and Ah Neoh. The pace was supposed to be slow but I was quite worried some of the guys would get impatient. 5 laps in, the pace noticeably picked up. Before that, I noticed Ah Wong was speeding up a bit on the downhills and sure enough he initiated the surge. I managed to control myself and tried to stick to the plan.

A couple of laps later, Wong dropped out. He was followed by Choon and Neoh respectively. At least Ah Yeoh was still going strong. He flagged a little at the start of lap 12 and signaled for me to go on. I knew it would be tough to hit 20 laps then. I revised my target to a minimum of 17, which would at least my personal record for the highest number of loops completed. Unlike Tuesday, I didn't feel like I was being choked. Instead, my legs were weakening. Fortunately, lap 17 did not drag on forever and I even managed to turn my legs over a bit. Overall, it was an ok run and I felt that doing the small loop in this direction would be more even in terms of effort exerted. You can't really rest that much on the gradual downhills.

There were some minor aches and niggles in my legs, but the worse was yet to come. Once I got home, I was feeling a bit sick. Perhaps some bugs sensing a weakened immune system? Fortunately, I swiftly felt better after lying down a while.

Recovery turned medium run

After taking yesterday off due to the haze, it was back to the Gardens again. Since I missed out on the long run scheduled for yesterday, I decided to stretch out today's recovery run. How much? No idea exactly, just depends on how the body and legs are feeling.

Medium run - Botanical Gardens

Jog to the Gardens

Light warm up and drills

6x Big Loops+1 small loop

6 hill strides

Light exercises

Once again, the pacer of the day was Ah Yeoh. Since most of my runs at the gardens are on the small, much flatter loop, I decided to hit the big hills for today. We started out at an easy pace, but gradually ramped it up every loop. I still felt sufficiently OK enough to add to the initially planned 4. Still, while my breathing was ok, the legs were gradually taking a beating. We got off the big loop after completing 6 and headed for the small. While I told myself to shoot for 4 loops, I knew halfway after the first that it would be the last. I managed to put in a bit of a surge to the finish. Many thanks again for Ah Yeoh for sticking till the end. Overall it was a solid hour.

Medium Moderate Run

After taking yesterday off, albeit with some regret, I geared up to tackle week 2 of my training.

*thanks to blogger being such a bitch, I lost the whole post, so here's a summary*

Went down the the gardens to do 16 laps. The target pace was an easier 1st half and then try to push a bit if I still had energy. Ah Yeoh was the pacer of the day so I thankfully didn't have to run alone. The first half more or less went according to plan, the pace being slightly slower than last Friday's run. Credit to Yeoh for sticking with me till 10 or 11 laps, but the last few laps were in danger of becoming a lonely death march for me too.

I didn't really feel the onset of crashing, at least not the usual kind. Instead of rebelling legs and robot-like form, I felt like a vise was tightening around my chest. As for the running form, I would probably be like a car gradually crumbling. I couldn't do much breathing-wise, but I did consciously tell myself to tidy up the form with cues. Despite my efforts, the discomfort reached a nadir 4 laps from the end and I really felt like throwing in the towel. The old me would have quit, or indeed he might never have made it that far. Some unseen force pushed me on past the hurt. Maybe that's the heart of the real Peter the runner? Whatever it is, I hope it's not going to make only cameo appearances.

The vise on my chest didn't let up, but that didn't stop me from trying to surge at the end, though it was nothing to write home about. All in all, I can't complain much as I did accomplish what I set out to do. Many thanks to Ah Yeoh too for running with me.

Week 1 Summary

I am certainly glad to have 'survived' week 1, but it has been far from an easy task. For starters, I didn't manage to hit the planned mileage. Among the dropped workouts were an unimportant recovery run and a much more pertinent long run. The long run was probably a bigger step for me at this point and I have to be patient. My legs were too heavy and it was probably better to skip it. All in all 60+ km was an ok progression from my existing training.

Freedom!!!

Disclaimer: Ok, before any aspiring politicos jump on my back, this post is completely about running.

I skipped yesterday's run simply because my body wasn't up for it. Anyhow, it was supposed to be a recovery run. Despite the extra day of rest, I woke up early this morning and immediately decided to push my run to this afternoon. That turned out to be a good decision indeed as I later woke up to see heavy showers. Short though they might be, they did scrub away most of the haze that had been plaguing Penang. I was still on tenterhooks though for the next few hours while hoping the haze would stay away.

Small Loops at Botanical Gardens (14+k)

Easy run to Botanical Gardens

Short warm up with light drills

16 small loops, 67:11

5x short strides on grass

Jog back

Shoes: Brooks Launch

My plan for the day was supposed to be 9 miles of general aerobic work so I decided to cover 16 laps of the gardens. It must have been the week or so of not running on solid ground but the initial warm up run to the gardens really felt a bit off. I had wanted to jump straight into the 16 laps, but my easy warm up pace was starting to leave me a bit winded. I decided to do some drills and dynamic stretches, but they were really to help me reset my rhythm. Thankfully, I found some guys from my O2 teammates to pace with too.

Mindful of the fatigue in my legs from the week's previous runs, I wanted to keep the pace slow. However, miscommunication between me and Ah Wong, my 1st pacer, put paid to that. He thought I said the initial pace was too slow while I really meant slow down. After Ah Yeoh joined us a few laps in, I stood off from Ah Wong's pace. He would drop out before halfway.

Despite having endured the treadmill the past few days, my mind was still having difficulty clicking off the laps. The heat and humidity was as unrelenting as ever even though it rained earlier. The last few laps were a slog. I kept telling myself to ease off the pace a bit but we were not slowing down at all. Ah Yeoh wilted a bit the last few laps, and Siao Tieh surged to the front. I would have him to chase the last few laps, all while telling myself to slow down.

Overall, I am pretty happy to finally get to run outside again. Many thanks to my (inadvertent) pacers for dragging me through the run!

Long run on the treadmill

Today's workout was supposed to be a 11 mile medium long run. As the haze has shown no sign of abating anytime soon, that would mean I will have to run on the 'mill much longer that I already have. Before I get to tackle that potential mind killer however, I have to deal with the after effects of yesterday's run. I had planned to head to the gym in the morning, but my body had other plans when I woke up. I really felt depleted and I knew there was no way I could muster up enough mental strength while feeling physically subpar. I dropped straight back into the warm embrace of my bed, wasn't surprising really. What's surprising was I only woke up at 2pm. That would mean I was knocked out for nearly 13 hours. And I still felt tired. Dayummmmm.

Mid-week long run (treadmill)

13+5k

Shoes: Brooks Launch (newer)

Mindful of the length of the run, I started out at a much slower pace. For the first 40 minutes or so, I alternated between increasing the incline and pace at 5 minute intervals. Once I got up to the 13+kph range, there was no more playing with the incline for the simple reason of me tiring out. Still I managed to hold on till just after the hour mark where I stepped off for a short while to have a short drink break. I took about 23 minutes more to complete the balance of the workout. All in all, pretty glad I survived this day.

Today My (Marathon) Life Begins

Echoing the Bruno Mars song, today marks the beginning of my training as a marathoner. I actually planned to start yesterday, but the haze gave me another reason to rest my sore right foot and clear any straggling phlegm, both battle scars from the KL marathon 21k. Besides, Mondays on the training plan I am following are marked rest or cross training anyway.

With a fresh beginning in mind, I went to bed early, at least by my standards. I enthusiastically woke up at 6, to find... even heavier haze. The haze this year sure picked an excellent time to show up, exactly on the day I intend to start marathon training. I guess this is an early test of my resolve and determination. I simply cannot falter at this early hurdle. Faced with such difficult and potentially harmful running conditions, I chose a lesser evil, the treadmill. At least the boredom should foster mental strength.

Day 1 (Treadmill)

13k, 57 minutes

10x100m strides

Shoes: Brooks Launch

The plan for the day way to do get some general aerobic work in along with some speed, aka 8 miles and 10 100m strides. The main run should not be a jog while not being a hard workout. Hmmm, tricky. I started out at 13.2kph. Since I get bored easily on the treadmill, I decided to increase the pace 0.2kph every 10 minutes. To distract myself further, I used the full length mirror in front of me to admire my dashing good looks adjust my form and try to infuriate myself further by counting my stride rate every 12 minutes (yea, random number) or so.

Towards the end, the pace was around my half marathon pace, certainly too fast according to the plan as anything higher than 90% of marathon pace would be considered specific work or some other mumbo-jumbo. I guess my starting pace would be too fast too going by that rationale, but any slower would require me to plod. Well, maybe the relative ease of treadmill running would compensate somewhat. I think it would be better for me to just focus on relaxing no matter the pace.

After taking a short breather, I proceeded to the speed portion. Now, if the stupid haze didn't show up, I would be doing the strides on a grass field somewhere, with the wind in my hair and maybe monkeys and hot chicks and spectators (ahem). Instead, I have the treadmill motor blowing hot air, thankfully not on my face, and trying not to do a faceplant to occupy myself. All this while hearing some disconcerting roar from the motor whenever I dial the treadmill to the stride speed. After experiencing a passing imitation of food blender and the accompanying sound effects at the top speed of 20kph, I decided perhaps it would be unwise to subject the 'mill to 10 rounds of that. Of course, it would be better to start gradually too, so I started the first set at 18kph and proceeded to ramp up each rep.

Overall, it's a pretty solid start. I really hope I can stay the course for these 20 weeks. Perhaps I won't turn in an underwhelming performance for once.