BFG rave runs: Meuse westside

Memorable in terms of the terrain encountered - 15th century cobble stones, bricks, asphalt, concrete, gravel, mud track and grass. Yes, Maastricht is so small that 15 minutes out, it was the country side. 

Usually my runs were on the eastside of the river, headed south. This time, I went north, crossed over the river and continued on the westside due south. The medieval landscape quickly made way for small cottages, isolated industrial buildings, parks, and finally the path ended at a river dock and I had to turn around. Weather was nice in the 20s.

5km of warmup, then starting at MP for 1 km with 500m of recovery, increasing the pace by 10 sec every subsequent km to 5-km pace. Total 18km.

The second day was a modest 14km along familiar territory. Did some further exploration north-side and south-side in order to get the mileage. Missed a nice dinner at a chateau, but settled for chinese takeout instead.

Assault on Cameron Highlands

Being a relatively flat island, we have only a few small hills to train on. So it was with some apprehension that I signed up for the JoyRider's trip to Cameron Highlands, a popular tourist destination in Pahang, West Malaysia with an elevation of 1,829 metres. By contrast, Bt Timah is 163m and Mt Faber 105m in elevation.

 The trip was well thought out, with three rides in three days. The first day was a long commute up, with a sumptious nasi lemak lunch stopover in Petaling Jaya. Some 40 riders started the ride from Simpang Pulai for the 55km climb (over 1,400m).

The initial 8 km was flatish, a good warm up. But right after that, we hit the first slope - and the train started thinning. The gradient is about 10%, and my HR went over 160 immediately. It was only after 20km or so that I found my rhymth and my HR settled to a more manageable 150+. Even so, the trajectory was up and up, with a few flat and downslopes for respite. I had intially thought that 55 km was shortish. But it took all of 3:15 to complete.

To add to the challenge, the sky opened and we were completely drenched mid way through the ride. The final kms were a relief, mainly downhill on wide roads. I kept wondering when the good part would be over before the next big climb. Fortunately, that was not to be. Never was I so happy when I saw the 500m to go sign post for Restaurant 88, the venue of our dinner near Kg Baru.

Ave HR 154, ave cadence 67, ave speed 16.5 kph.

Day two started with the bus bringing us down the exact same route we were to cover, from Tanah Rata to Kg Kuala. The prescribed route was 92 km. Rolling terrain for the initial 40km, which I enjoyed tremendously. From 40km onwards, it was an ascent of 800m (to Ringlet at 1,026m) over 30km, which wasn't too bad compared to day one. Except for a long 7 to 8 km continous climb, and half a dozen 10% gradient slopes from 70km onwards, it was just a case of grinding and finding the right gears.

The weather was perfect, downcast but no rain, except for the sunny spell around 12 pm. I deliberately went no lower than the 25 cassette, keeping 27 and 29 in reserve for the final 12km assault from Ringlet to Tanah Rata. Cadence fell to 50+ on those climbs. Alas, I was swayed by a couple of strong riders who stopped at Ringlet, and could only marvel - from the comfort of the bus - at the brave ones making the final assault. That final stretch would have to remain as unfinished business for another time.

 Ave HR 142, ave cadence 69, ave speed 19.7 kph.

 The last day was a 60km descent. Many didn't suit up and I assessed the limited training benefits against the potential pitfalls - wet roads and potholes - and decided that the risks weren't worth taking, with the year end IM on the line. Overall, it was a truly memorable trip. Met many nice and wonderful people, and thoroughly happy with the accomplishment, modest though it might be. Would I return? You bet.

TLog: summary statistics

Since bumming around in June and early July (vacations, conferences and a prolonged bout of flu), I only managed to get back on track since mid July. The past two weeks in August had been intense:

June (month): S18.3, B437, R84
July (month): S9, B690, R51
Week ending Aug 7: S4.3, B176, R28 (total 12 hrs)
Week ending Aug 14: S6.6; B227, R42.5 (total 18 hrs)

Long way to go before IM-ready.

BFG rave run: Barossa Valley

There is currently a wine glut, and wine makers in Australia are struggling over the past few years. Many has ceased operations, but not my favorites.

Visited Torbreck winery during a lull in the symposium program as well as East End Cellars in Adelaide. Torbreck has a new top end wine - The Laird. Too bad we couldn't get a tasting. Would have to wait  at least 15 years before I do (not sure if I can last that long).

I digress. Did a short 6km run around Novotel, truncated by the faster-than-expected darkness. Them slopes around Novotel are trying, to say the least. Fancy cycling up? That's a thought.

BFG rave run: Adelaide

How little has Adelaide changed in 18 months. The scenic Torrens river, my training routes in Dec 2009, remains as beautiful and inspiring as ever; other than the fact that July is winter and daylight hours are shorter.

Managed two runs towards the north east direction, all the way to the bus-rail tracks - a nice 11 km run, and the second 5 km effort around the convention center.

The runs evoked nice memories of past runs. Yes, it was good to be back in Adelaide.

BFG rave run: Eindhoven

Eindhoven, a small city of over 200,000 inhabitants in south Netherlands, venue for the ERES 2011 conference.  PE, my dutch friend wanted to confer upon me an honorary dutch citizenship for all the trips to Netherlands in recent years.

Did two 10km runs around the city in June. The first was an exploratory run incorporating various recommended walking tours and some attractions around the city center. Because the city center is so small, I had to run up and down river to chalk up 10km. The second was several loops around a park I discovered on the first run. Very scenic with ducks, children and a few cyclists. Quite good pace, given the nice weather.

2011 Sundown marathon

Sundown marathon: Fourth year running, and for me, it was back to the 42km event after last year's ultra. The route waas the same as for last year's, so there were no surprises other than the earlier start time (10 pm).

Highlights and lowlights:

Being stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours in spite of boarding the shuttle bus at 8:20pm. I had never missed a start before and it was a strange feeling seeing the competitors running while sitting idly in the bus.

At least, I didn't have to deal with the crowd and could go at my own pace.

Saw SC at the start line, but he was faster. Managed to catch up with him only after 2 km or so. We ran together for a while but lost him after the water station. I usually went for the third or fourth table as there were too many runners.

Managed to maintain my marathon pace of 6:45 to 7:00, with walk breaks at every water station. They were spaced 2 km apart (more or less). My HRM went haywire as usual (note to change), and my plan to run at 145 - 150 bpm had to be replaced by pace.

At the half way point, my garmin registered 2:33 hours, slightly behind target. Managed to hold pace for another 4 km, and then it starting going downhill. I gave up looking at my watch and just going by perceived exertion.

It was 32km when we turned into CCR, the so-called dreaded stretch. Time to pick up the pace, and I managed to go back to race pace albeit at much elevated HR. All those training runs with hard endings allowed me to sustain a second wind.

Started counting runners (IN's strategy) between water points. First it was 100+ runners and then it was 200+ runners (nett). Runpix showed that over the last 11km, I overtook 499 runners and 41 overtook me. The fun ended when we turned into Aviation Road. It was getting hard for me to maintain, and I guessed I started too soon.

Managed to finish at 5:16:07. No PB but third best timing overall. Actually this was my best timing for SDM. Overall, I am pretty satisfied given the limited training I put in and that my last marathon was almost 18 months ago.

For the record, my position overall was 1654 (22% ahead), men - 1460 (23% ahead), division - 52 (26% ahead).

Did a post race evaluation with coach today, and the next focus would be to run off the bike. Back to training. :)

MBH did her third half marathon, with a time of 3:41:09, a respectable time given even more limited training. Well done!

Truth be told, we are gettting a little bored with the route and the traffic jams to and from the race venue. So this year would likely be our last SDM for a while.

But then, who knows?