Running with horses: Week summary (20-26 Feb)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Week summary (20-26 Feb)

Monday (20 Feb)

Am - Mt Tibrogargan (363m). 1:06:09
Pm - Mt Ngungun (253m). 28:30

Tuesday (21 Feb)

Am - Mt Tibrogargan (363m). 58:40

Wednesday (22 Feb)

Am - Mt Ngungun (253m)
Lap 1: 23:12
Lap 2: 27:32

Thursday (23 Feb)

Am - 6.5km. 31:17

Friday (24 Feb)

Am - 7.4km. 36:12

Hours: 4hr31min53sec
Elevation gained: 1485m

This marks the beginning of my training for this season. It's good to be back in the wild once again, ascending mountains, hanging to the rocks as if your life depends on it, feeling the heart beats faster with each step forward or upward, having sweat drip from the forehead and all over the body, and sprinting downhill. This year i am turning my schedule upside down. In the past, i used to train mainly in the evening. But what i found this year is that, once i have started working, i usually end up returning home late, and by the time i reach home, i am already dead tired. So now i am trying to sleep early, and wake up early to spend time with God's creation.

This year my instinct tells me to mix things up a little bit, by doing a variety of activities and cross training. The nature is our playground, and really there are so many things we can do whilst we are in it. Mountain climbing, trail running, road running, mountain biking, hiking etc. It is indeed a place where creativity, spontaneity and a gutsy attitude meet. One needs to exercise wisdom and caution in certain conditions though. I definitely won't climb mountain when it's raining.

Once again, one should not neglect the importance of strength training and conditioning. By this i mean, performing certain exercises to strengthen certain parts of our body or muscle groups, such as lunges, single-leg squat, skipping, stretching, push-ups etc. As much as i hate to do these coz they are boring, they are important in improving our overall ability and flexibility, and preventing injuries.

My ultimate goal this year is to run ultramarathon i.e. 100km.Two of the biggest ultras i am planning to run are The Most Beautiful Thing (TMBT) ultra trail marathon 100km in Sabah, and The North Face 100 in Singapore this year. I just hope i can arrive at the starting line unharmed and un-injured.

That's all for now. I flared up my ITB again last Friday during my run. Sigh. Now i have to wait for it to heal. God is teaching me patience here. Thank You Lord for everything. :)