A very satisfying Sunday run - Teluk Kumbar Cross-Country (Merentas Desa)

I did my 2nd Teluk Kumbar cross country this morning. The first was in 2010.. The difference was in 2010, I ran under the Open category, and did 8km (actually measured by my friend was 7.5km) but now, I am in the Jr Veteran group, I skipped the ~1km hilly run.. and ended up with 6.56km (stated as 6km in the race).
It was truly a nice feeling running through the scenic parts of teluk Kumbar which offers a lot of different running conditions - along the road, across the villages, the beach, and the veggie plantation (running on the benteng). I must say of all the races, this one boasts the most variety - short of tougLuh !! The beach run was the worse..
6.56k@37:44'@5:45'/k.. Toughest along the 1.2k beach, almost at walking pace !!

Total distance : 6.56m
Total time : 37:44
Average pace : 5:45'/k

The splits:
1) 2.53km (pace : 5:07) - along the road & through the kampung small roads, in between houses too !
2) 1.18km (pace :8:19) - along the dreaded beach.. The tide was high, so I had to run the soft part of the sandy beach.. Chris did a run on the lower edge of the beach, harder surface but had to get the shoe soaked.. I guess I still love my Ravenna 2 to let it wet the 2nd time !
3) 1.81km (pace : 5:21) - along the kampung roads
4) 269m (pace : 5:16) - through the veggie plantation, tough with muddy sands
5) 765km (pace : 5:01) - caught up with Chris.. and paced by him.. LOL !

Up next --> Malakoff 17km !

Merentas Desa Pulau Pinang 2011 @ Teluk Kumbar @ 6th Mar 2011, 7.30am

I took part in this run last year.. The beach run along Gertak Sanggul was pretty taxing.. some even tripped over the ropes holding the boats.. Need to do some practice.. The toughest part must be the hike up the hill @ Teluk Kumbar.. and remember the smelly vegetable farms. Hope the sun is not too hot, especially approaching the finishing stretch.. It was so scorching last year !

Date : 6th March 2011
Time : 7.30am

But alas ! I am on a business trip and is on the way back home on the day.. Looks like I hv give it a miss this year !!

My Cool Running blog....

OK. I must admit. This blog is ONE YEAR late ! I was supposed to start blogging after my PBIM in 2009 but procrastination sets in... and here I am, 1 year later :P

Better late than never lah.. I blog this so that I can keep track of my runs, the records and trainings.. Also, something for me to look back later !

Reflections of 2010.. I did a total of 5 runs, with a total distance of 84km, time spent 10 hrs 3 mins running.. Pretty satisfying as the runs has brought to places I have never been to, like Cyberjaya and around Tg Bungah and Teluk Kumbar interior. It is during the Malakoff Run that I got notice of the Penang Swimming Club and the amazing sunrise which led me signing up as member 2 months later !

So, overall, a great step forward in my Cool Running in 2010..

1) February 28 - Merentas Desa Pulau Pinang 6km @ Teluk Kumbar, 45mins
2) March 27 - Energizer Night Race 21km @ Cyberjaya, 2 hrs 52 mins
3) May 30 - Malakoff 26km @ Taman Perbandaran PP, 3 hrs 31 mins
4) October 17 - City Run 10km @ Georgetown, 55mins
5) November 21 - Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) 21km, 2 hrs 40 mins