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!