By Frank
Yesterday evening, I ran my very first night long run for my Sundown Marathon 2010 training this year. And where else to do it than Putrajaya at the infamous 11.5KM loop that till take runners from the Palace of Justice to Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Palace of Justice, Prime Minister's Office and back to the start point. The reason I said infamous is because that a lot of runners struggled here which includes myself. Not sure of the reason. It may be due to the mental challenge of the loops, humidity level or even the surface.
This run was organised by Keat Seong and was supposed to start at 9pm. However, as I plan to run a slightly further distance, I opt to start at 8pm which I did. Weather and humidity level was actually fine, not as bad as previous runs. The first 5KM all the way up to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre was done at a 6mins/KM pace, taking it as warm up. Then I increased it to 5:30mins/KM on the return leg. By the time I arrived back at the car, I was 10 minutes late and Keat Seong and Jennifer has started. I waited for a while to spot any other runners which include Rohaimy but after seeing no one, I decided to carry on.
500M into my second loop, I spotted Keat Seong making his way back followed behind by Jennifer. I u-turned and slowed down to wait for Jennifer as I though it was dangerous to leave her behind alone. I followed her pace till the Prime Minister's Office before she drop out.
From there, I carried on myself and back to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, though still feeling fresh, my legs were already a goner. Everything waist down was really sore. I did the loop twice as I did not want to climb again later and made my way back to the car to refuel. It was a struggle back and I really wanted to walk back. However, I didn't as I kept my vision on the Ministry of Sports building which was brightly lighted. I used it as my guide to bring me back which I successfully did with 8 minutes to spare till 3 hours since I started my run.
I spotted Jennifer hanging around at the car park and it really tempted me to call it a day. After thinking it through, I decided to stop after running 26.6KM. Did not want to punish my legs too much as after all it's been a month since I ran, and this infamous Putrajaya loop has always been tough somehow.
Chatted with Jennifer while waiting for Keat Seong to return. He too found it tough and after 26KM, he decided to call it quits too. Hung around for a while, got changed and we drove to an eatery at Puchong for a quick supper before making ourselves back home to our bed. And it was near to 2am when I got home.
Throughout this run, I played around with my running gait. I tried landing o my mid or forefoot using my ASICS GEL-DS Trainer 14. While I managed to do it on my right feet, I failed miserably on my left. Guess the shoe isn't low profile enough.
And while I felt good after the run, I did not think the run was fruitful. I can't maintain a good pace throughout the run and my heart rate was inconsistent. However, this is a stepping stone as Sundown Marathon 2010 is just 5 weeks away. Will continue to train here till the final 2 weeks and hopefully by then, I will be able to break this Putrajaya jinx.
Yesterday evening, I ran my very first night long run for my Sundown Marathon 2010 training this year. And where else to do it than Putrajaya at the infamous 11.5KM loop that till take runners from the Palace of Justice to Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Palace of Justice, Prime Minister's Office and back to the start point. The reason I said infamous is because that a lot of runners struggled here which includes myself. Not sure of the reason. It may be due to the mental challenge of the loops, humidity level or even the surface.
This run was organised by Keat Seong and was supposed to start at 9pm. However, as I plan to run a slightly further distance, I opt to start at 8pm which I did. Weather and humidity level was actually fine, not as bad as previous runs. The first 5KM all the way up to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre was done at a 6mins/KM pace, taking it as warm up. Then I increased it to 5:30mins/KM on the return leg. By the time I arrived back at the car, I was 10 minutes late and Keat Seong and Jennifer has started. I waited for a while to spot any other runners which include Rohaimy but after seeing no one, I decided to carry on.
500M into my second loop, I spotted Keat Seong making his way back followed behind by Jennifer. I u-turned and slowed down to wait for Jennifer as I though it was dangerous to leave her behind alone. I followed her pace till the Prime Minister's Office before she drop out.
From there, I carried on myself and back to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, though still feeling fresh, my legs were already a goner. Everything waist down was really sore. I did the loop twice as I did not want to climb again later and made my way back to the car to refuel. It was a struggle back and I really wanted to walk back. However, I didn't as I kept my vision on the Ministry of Sports building which was brightly lighted. I used it as my guide to bring me back which I successfully did with 8 minutes to spare till 3 hours since I started my run.
I spotted Jennifer hanging around at the car park and it really tempted me to call it a day. After thinking it through, I decided to stop after running 26.6KM. Did not want to punish my legs too much as after all it's been a month since I ran, and this infamous Putrajaya loop has always been tough somehow.
Chatted with Jennifer while waiting for Keat Seong to return. He too found it tough and after 26KM, he decided to call it quits too. Hung around for a while, got changed and we drove to an eatery at Puchong for a quick supper before making ourselves back home to our bed. And it was near to 2am when I got home.
Throughout this run, I played around with my running gait. I tried landing o my mid or forefoot using my ASICS GEL-DS Trainer 14. While I managed to do it on my right feet, I failed miserably on my left. Guess the shoe isn't low profile enough.
And while I felt good after the run, I did not think the run was fruitful. I can't maintain a good pace throughout the run and my heart rate was inconsistent. However, this is a stepping stone as Sundown Marathon 2010 is just 5 weeks away. Will continue to train here till the final 2 weeks and hopefully by then, I will be able to break this Putrajaya jinx.
