35 Years Young, 35K, 3.5 Hours

Well, another year has come and gone, at least as far as my DOB is concerned. I wanted to do something significant and what better way than to capitalise on my plan for a 35K. Incidentally my usual 35K timing is around 3.5 hours, so I thought, "Bring it on!"

With my Mom is around, Carbokid has got a backup minder. It was once again drizzling lightly at the start at 5:50am and as I stepped out of my car, I felt the cold wind penetrate my bones. The initial miles were tough. The body just couldn't respond. Only after the IRS building did it (and the mind) come to live - incidentally when I ran into the returning Lawrence. See how familiar faces can lift the flagging spirit? Besides Lawrence a few others were doing their 30Ks. Singapore is just slightly more than a month away. With the tapering period, only 4 weeks remain for long runs (this run inclusive).

The drizzle turned heavier between the 20 and 25K mark. The sun contemplated on shining in all its glory but it turned out just to be a peep show. The cool weather prevailed. I clocked 2:53 for my 30K and before embarking on 2 laps around the lake, I had a banana with some Gatorade. Ah Toh, Ah Wah and Seah who were in the base building phase for KLIM '06 ran past me. I was surprised that nearing the end of my run, I was still able to put in a few surges. Once I got back to the car, I quickly towelled dry and left for home, feeling very happy about the morning's effort.

Back home, I had a cup noodle, 3 slices of bread washed down with plenty of fluids for breakfast. My brother called offering to buy birthday lunch for me and before breakfast was digested, we found ourselves in 1-Utama's Vietnam Kitchen for a hearty lunch. In fact we ate A LOT. So much for replacement carbs. A few more long runs remain before tapering. Next Sunday will hopefully be another 35K, the following one a 30K and finally a 35K during the PACM practice run.