Sunday 21 December 2008

I... need... rest...

I had a late night on Friday catching up with old friends from high school...

...followed by a Saturday long bike ride with Dr Ray, Tomato Ray, Mich and friends. 130++km of climbing the hills of Broga and Kuala Klawang from Ulu Langat is no joke! At one point I was cycling at 8-9kph, that's like jogging pace!

Then another late night on Saturday with the family and darling at my brother's Stingray Swimming Club Annual Dinner at Dynasty hotel. Karen was the emcee while Keith performed a dance. Dad was sitting at the VIP table as treasurer of the club. Mum, Li-Ann and myself just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the show.

Hence, the 52 minute target (average 4:20 per km) for this mornings Malakoff 12km run seemed a bit ambitious with my jelly legs and strained body.

For my Christmas presents this year, I got myself a pair of Saucony Fastwitch 3 and Injinji toe socks from Uncle Choi.

I tried out the shoes for this run. It was indeed very light - 7oz! I found the outer sole a bit thin, because I'm used to wearing cushioning shoes. But they feel great and comfy as they're well ventilated and the inner materials are very soft.

Another thing I tried out for this run is my newly purchased Timex Ironman 100 laps Flix watch. It feels a lot lighter than it looks, so another light racing gear!

The run was held at Taman Rimba Kiara, 2 loops of 6km. There were two slopes on the route, we went through them twice. I couldn't push myself hard with the minimal energy I had. I saw Tomato Ray ahead at the first turnaround point, followed by fellow Team Hyper Gila cycling training buddy, Jason Thiang. I managed to overtake Jason just after the first turnaround, my time was 13 minutes plus then.

Coming back to the end of the first loop, I met Mich, Eugene, Bobby, Abu and Saiful on the way, along with Team Tri Hard members - Emma, Carmen, Simon, Siok Bee and Meng. Uncle Choi was there taking pictures. My timing at the end of the first loop was 24:34, I thought hey, I could do sub 50 minutes!

I managed to overtake Tomato Ray just slightly after the first loop but after the turnaround point, he caught up with me and we were pacing towards the finish line. Just about 500m more to go, he turned up his turbo engine and left me behind! I finished in 49:27, hmmm... somehow the distance seemed shorter than 12km...

I met up with Bobby, Keat Seong, Mich, Meng and Dr Ray after that. Dad came in soon too with a gun time of 67 minutes, well done!

That's it guys. I'm off the Langkawi for a family trip and a well deserved rest. Full Ironman training will resume on Tuesday! Merry Christmas!

4 comments:

bola2api said...

i thot i saw u.. wanted to shout tapi jauh.. n malu if i got the wrong person haha

well done dude

Kevin Siah said...

I thought I saw you too! In the morning with Abu and Saiful before the race, but wasn't sure was you too.

You did well too!

C-CUBE said...

kev, u will get used to the low profile Fastwitch 3. As u mentioned u have been using the thicker and more cushioning trainer for most of your runs. The Fatswitch will give u a better kick and more feel towards the ground as you push yourself. Anyway a good timing for you even though after a long ride on Sat.

Kevin Siah said...

Yup, would wear it for my runs a few more times to get more used to it.

Thanks for the pic, Uncle Choi!