Long Deserved Kick Start

I did bring back both my trail and road running shoes when going back hometown during Raya last week. And I did have some plans for running during the holidays. So, for the sake of sharing how did I spend the last eight days, shall best be summarized chronologically.

1st day Raya, Friday
The plan for the day was a NO RUN day! Both my girls flew back to hometown and I did a solo 500km drive from KL to KB after Friday prayer. I was glad the traffic was very smooth all the way.

I took the opportunity to stop by Ian's house for Raya, and had a chance for a personal tour at his private studio. Awesome.

2nd day Raya, Saturday
I managed to spoil my running plan with the excuse that I was still tired from the previous day driving. Furthermore, who's gonna finish up the delicious mutton briyani which my mother cooked, right? Tak baik membazir, kan?

3rd day Raya, Sunday
I forgot what was the excuse, but I didn't run on this day either. I then made a plan to run to PCB (Pantai Cahaya Bulan), which is 10km away from my house. A very ambitious plan that I set for the next day. Konon-konon nak revenge la ni.

4th day Raya, Monday
Finally, I managed to go to PCB. Not by running though, but with the car. Yes, I drove. I brought my wife and daughter to the beach in the evening to enjoy the sea breeze. The thought of running 20km scared me, somehow. No kidding.

5th day Raya, Tuesday
I lost the battle with the blanket, again. What can I say?

6th day Raya, Wednesday
Okay, since it's the day I should drive back to KL, I shouldn't get too crazy and hit the tarmac in the morning, should I? So, as nice as I unloaded my trail and road running shoes from the car when I first arrived hometown, I re-loaded them back into the car trunk with the same manner. They never see any sunshine.

7th day Raya, Thursday
I re-used the “tired from driving” excuse to justify to Syah why I couldn't be at Nuang for the trail run I initially planned to join. So, the day was made full use for laundry-ing and some housekeeping. I took the 11pm bus service back to JB for work.

8th day Raya, Friday
I had to work as I do not have much annual leave left to spend. Although my wife has recommended for me to take a medical leave, I acted like a workaholic and decided to turn up for work. Arrived JB at 3.30am, continued my sleep a little bit and by 8.30am, after finishing downloading all the 250 work emails, I felt like going to a psychiatrist to get a medical leave (but I didn't). After work, I took the 6pm bus to get back to KL to spend the weekend.

After a long lost battle with no one else other than my own self during the recent holidays, I made another plan for a run today morning. Other than the reason to prepare for the upcoming Newton 25km hilly run, I felt I lack the motivation to beat the comfy bed. I almost lost it again, seriously. But I thought I better just put on my running shoes and grab my camera along. This time, I also took the mini tripod.

I forgot how nice it feels to be able to wake up and run in the morning.

I went out pretty late, roughly at 7.30am. If I'm not mistaken, my last longest run before this was during PD triathlon, which was back in July. So, I didn't set any big ambition today. I just wanted to go out and run, and sweat, and take some photos (so that I have something to help decorate this blog).

It was a slow run, baby steps alike. I didn't dare to push hard on a come-back attempt like this. An hour on the foot should be good enough. And if I can do anything further, bonus.

Taking it slow and steady. The shady morning weather was such a bless.

Everything felt good on the first half an hour of the run (obviously, because I was running very slowly). It was only my second time running on this route nearby my in-law's place. The last time I ran here was probably last year. There's basically no other runners, and I don't think the route is shared among cyclists either. Some areas are pretty secluded and there were a few stray dogs scattered around here and there at few locations.

As I hit one hour, fatigue started to creep in slowly. After a quick stop at gas station for refueling, I cut short my plan. Instead of pursuing into another housing area for another hour of run supposedly, I diverted my route back to base. Total running time was slightly over 1.5 hours, and I can't be happier than that, at this moment. Hopefully there will be some reserve energy for another long run on Sunday.

I hope this is going to be a new long-deserved kick-start.