May Day Run

Enjoyable long run this morning with the gang. The men - Choi, Frank, Cheang, Kit, Tey and I -  were like Secret Service Agents protecting the First Lady Geraldine as we started off from the usual meeting place at about 5:10am. The morning was cool but humid and I sweated buckets. The pace were very easy the first 10 and I was glad I kept to the pace. There was still a long way to go and memories of the recent 2 long runs were still fresh in my mind. No way I'm going to go through the same difficulty again. Many of the guys were lamenting Liverpool's loss in the Champions League semis. For me Liverpool would've been easier meat for ManU but I think having Chelsea as final opponents would add extra impetus and motivation to Mancunians. I think the game will be explosive - hopefully I'll be able to catch it at the nearest mamak stall then.

I somehow felt strong throughout the run and though I didn't keep at eye on the watch, I wanted to run 6:10 pace the first 10 (which I didn't do in the end), then lower it to 6 flat the next 10 and under 6 for the final 10.  Was running alone for the most part which turned out to be a training of some sort too for the mind. The plan was to include 4 loops around Petronas to meet the target mileage.

I caught up with Ronnie and his posse just as they were about to run the final 10K of their 20K distance but after weighing if I should use them as my pacer, I decided against it - they being much much faster runners. Sure enough Ronnie, ChinYF and Stanley swept past me soon and TPC drew up and pulled away not far in front. The lead pack was about 100m ahead but were gradually extending their distance from me. At first 150m, then 200m and finally I don't see them anymore just before the Wilayah Mosque.

I was however locked in pace with TPC who was toying with me with his fartlek approach to running. I didn't run to catch up with him as he'd naturally drop back and I'd be level with him after which he'd pull away again. This lasted till the Tijani hill when I decided to experiment a little by pressing the gas and drew level with him. At the top of the climb, he blew his gasket and I went my way. I then pressed my pace in the downhill to try to build a gap as I passed Chin who was walking and stormed downhill in sub-5 minute pace at the 29K mark. I was running at about 30K race pace now - something I certainly can't sustain over the marathon. But by doing so builds confidence. I covered my last 10K of the 30K in about 52 minutes.

Back at the car park, we swarmed around Choi to check out the latest wares from Saucony. I can certainly attest that their 2008 range are hot. After chitchatting with the folks I left the car park for a hearty noodle breakfast. I somehow knew that I'd meet Newton at the eatery and true enough he arrived with his family.

All in all an excellent day of running!

1	6:47
2	6:46
3	6:41
4	6:16
5	6:20
6	6:58
7	6:10
8	6:07
9	5:59
10	6:02	1:04:05
11	5:58
12	5:45
13	5:41
14	5:53
15	5:47	1:33:08
16	5:41
17	5:49
18	5:38
19	5:45
20	5:49	2:01:49
21	5:21	2:07:10
22	5:40
23	5:16
24	5:19
25	5:34	2:28:59
26	5:18
27	5:24
28	5:10
29	4:54
30	5:01	2:54:47
31	5:20	2:58:12