Lauren and I just got back from a great, but short trip to the UK, where we went to attend a wedding. We took the opportunity whilst there to have a run together along the canal near Walton On Thames in Surrey. We ran down the tow path to Hampton Court and back which is little over 15km in total. Three great things about this were
A) Lauren and I never really run together - neither of us really has the patience... But we made it, we didn't want to kill each other and we actually enjoyed it!
B) running in the UK climate is really amazing after the humidity of Asia and it made me feel a little more confident about New York in November. Interestingly enough, it tooK my legs almost 4km to really warm up.
C) the route was amazing and Hampton Court is one of the most spectacular buildings you will ever see. It is great to get out and run new routes, especially on holiday... You get to see so many fabulous things.
This posting is called 2 Continents for a reason. A little while back I was in Australia for a week for work and got a chance to run a couple of times. Once in Perth and a couple of times in Brisbane. Again the climate helped, but I was consistently running sub 50 minute 10km's along some pretty great routes. I guess my job (and all the travel) does have some perks. I am off to Perth again Monday so I shall see what the even cooler weather brings!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
My Favourite place to run
I was reading in a running magazine the other day an article that featured a readers' favourite place to run and i thought about it for all of about 2 seconds and knew what my answer would be. Or certainly know what my answer is for Malaysia where i live.
Situated about 15 miles from the centre of KL is the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia or FRIM. It is awesome. Most of the trails are shared by walkers, the occasional runners and quite a lot of mountain bikers.
It is very quiet, has some challenging climbs and descents, has wide, well maintained trails and provides over 40km of decent trails if you really want to stretch yourself. I really discovered all of the trails on my mountain bike with my "crew" but it is running that i love it for now. I am still not really sure how many people read my blog, but if there is anyone who would like to know which trails i reccomend or would even like to meet for a run, i would happy to assist.
FRIM has a soft space in our hearts because it is also where, before officially moving to Malaysia, Lauren and I got engaged. As two people who love the outdoors and hiking over a mountain on a Sunday morning, we drove our hire car up there in our walking boots and day packs and when we found a suitable, secluded spot just off the trails, i pulled a sparkling ring from my bag and asked Lauren to make me the happiest man on the mountain! At the time we didnt really know where we were in park, and thought it was very secluded. It turns out now that it is quite a busy part and i pass it every time i go up there.
Situated about 15 miles from the centre of KL is the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia or FRIM. It is awesome. Most of the trails are shared by walkers, the occasional runners and quite a lot of mountain bikers.
 |
| courstesy of "my first blog" on blogspot |
It is very quiet, has some challenging climbs and descents, has wide, well maintained trails and provides over 40km of decent trails if you really want to stretch yourself. I really discovered all of the trails on my mountain bike with my "crew" but it is running that i love it for now. I am still not really sure how many people read my blog, but if there is anyone who would like to know which trails i reccomend or would even like to meet for a run, i would happy to assist.
FRIM has a soft space in our hearts because it is also where, before officially moving to Malaysia, Lauren and I got engaged. As two people who love the outdoors and hiking over a mountain on a Sunday morning, we drove our hire car up there in our walking boots and day packs and when we found a suitable, secluded spot just off the trails, i pulled a sparkling ring from my bag and asked Lauren to make me the happiest man on the mountain! At the time we didnt really know where we were in park, and thought it was very secluded. It turns out now that it is quite a busy part and i pass it every time i go up there.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
New Balance 15km Race Report
This 15km race was hosted by KL Pacesetters and was held around the town centre of Putrajaya just outside KL. It is a new town, with excellent roads, lots of parking and a nice gentle breeze blowing in from the sea.
It was a really well organised race.
Having had lots of water, and a carb-packed dinner the night before, i got up on Sunday morning feeling pretty good. My legs are a little stiff at the moment, because i am really picking up the miles every week, but all in I felt pretty good. Had a nice hot shower and breakfast and we headed out bright and early. Lauren was running this one too, so it was good to head out together.
We easily found a space near the start line and i set of for a short warm up jog around a couple of blocks and was surprised to see such few people (these are normally bigger). For some reason I got the time a little wrong and realised i only had a couple of minutes to make it to the start so i jogged down to the line, jumped in the crowd about 10 metres back, checked my trusty Garmin and we were off.
The route was great although climbing a pretty steep hill in the middle was a bit of a surprise as I thought i had read that the race was flat. The roads were really wide and i was sitting relatively close to the front so I had so much space. After about a km, my legs finally started to warm up. It seemed that everyone around me was keeping a 5:15min per km pace so i just sat tight and ran on the shoulders of a small group. I was feeling pretty strong and comfortable and was able to maintain the pace without any real difficulty - something i put down to the cooler temperature that morning.
I hit the 10km mark in 51:30 and was pretty pleased with that as i felt i had quite a lot left in the tank. I struggled a little at the 11-12km mark as we had to cross a long bridge, the ascent of which seem to go on forever. I think i tucked in behind someone who was a strong climber and probably went up a little fast. It kind of knocked the wind out of me, so I didn't descend as quick as I probably could have.
The last 2km was a long open out and back. I was about 500m from the turn when I saw my friend Robin on the other side of me (1km in front) and that gave me a little boost to try to finish strong. As it turns out, Robin is an animal and had a great finish almost 6 minutes ahead of me, but i did the last km in 5:10 which i was happy with. I crossed the line in 1:19.21 which I was really pleased with in the end.
There was plenty of food and other goodies available at the finish line, including a huge supply of Gatorade (which was great!) but sadly, no water. Hopefully this is something that they will think about for next time as there were a lot of people complaining.
All in all a great morning out. My friends Will, Sarah and Robin all had great races and of course my gorgeous wife finished strong in a great time. Will is training for his first half and is relatively new to running and it was awesome to be able to support him for his strong finish.
Just a couple of weeks really until the KL half.
It was a really well organised race.
Having had lots of water, and a carb-packed dinner the night before, i got up on Sunday morning feeling pretty good. My legs are a little stiff at the moment, because i am really picking up the miles every week, but all in I felt pretty good. Had a nice hot shower and breakfast and we headed out bright and early. Lauren was running this one too, so it was good to head out together.
 |
| thanks to blogger, lifeisxtragreat for the photo |
The route was great although climbing a pretty steep hill in the middle was a bit of a surprise as I thought i had read that the race was flat. The roads were really wide and i was sitting relatively close to the front so I had so much space. After about a km, my legs finally started to warm up. It seemed that everyone around me was keeping a 5:15min per km pace so i just sat tight and ran on the shoulders of a small group. I was feeling pretty strong and comfortable and was able to maintain the pace without any real difficulty - something i put down to the cooler temperature that morning.
I hit the 10km mark in 51:30 and was pretty pleased with that as i felt i had quite a lot left in the tank. I struggled a little at the 11-12km mark as we had to cross a long bridge, the ascent of which seem to go on forever. I think i tucked in behind someone who was a strong climber and probably went up a little fast. It kind of knocked the wind out of me, so I didn't descend as quick as I probably could have.
The last 2km was a long open out and back. I was about 500m from the turn when I saw my friend Robin on the other side of me (1km in front) and that gave me a little boost to try to finish strong. As it turns out, Robin is an animal and had a great finish almost 6 minutes ahead of me, but i did the last km in 5:10 which i was happy with. I crossed the line in 1:19.21 which I was really pleased with in the end.
There was plenty of food and other goodies available at the finish line, including a huge supply of Gatorade (which was great!) but sadly, no water. Hopefully this is something that they will think about for next time as there were a lot of people complaining.
All in all a great morning out. My friends Will, Sarah and Robin all had great races and of course my gorgeous wife finished strong in a great time. Will is training for his first half and is relatively new to running and it was awesome to be able to support him for his strong finish.
Just a couple of weeks really until the KL half.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
