19th Aug 35k LR

As previously mentioned this morning was a long run workout that stretched to 35km, my longest for this block. Linking up with #TheConeyRunners helped to complete the task by turning turn to lead the pace without going too hard and fast.

My alarm started buzzing at 445am and I had a quick 2 slices of bread with honey and a cup of coffee black. Quickly packed my gears and was in dilemma between the 2 training shoes to wear; Nike Lunar Tempo 2 vs Zoomfly. In the end I decided with the latter which was my first attempt for LR and to test the ride for such a long distance. Got to East Coast Park B1 CP at 6pm to meet up with TCR crews Alvin, Ken Mun, Zhi Feng and Chuan Han. We had a quick discussion on the route and then off we went for our workout. The initial pace was comfortable slow just under 5min per km just to warm up the body and we took turn to lead the pack. Gradually the pace started to pick up and started to hover at 4:2x and we stopped at the bicycle kiosk after the ECP hawker centre for hydration refuel.

There we bumped into ASICS sponsored SEA Games double gold medalist Soh Ruiyong with Jing Zhi on bike to support him. He told us he was running 42km workout and we could run together. Sound like a good idea to run in a bigger pack and the next 10km we were running and chatting. Dropping out at 35km we wished RY all the best in his training for Berlin marathon in 4 weeks time! His pace in Strava showed after our split he ramp up the pace to sub4min per km and boy glad we missed that LoL

Anyway I'm glad to have a group to run with for LR taking turns to lead and for this prolong session I didn't rely on gel which I brought along. Secondly I'm really impressed by VaporFly's ride and the maximalist design really help to reduce the amount of bashing on my lower limbs. In fact much better than some of the maximalist Hoka I owned (Tracer, Clayton 1 & 2 except Clifton 1 which is still the legendary best). Didn't encounter any blister luckily for a 35k except my left pinky toe felt a bit of numbness, perhap from the stiff forefoot plate that might alter the gait. The midsole did have significant wriggle lines in the medial side for both sides and is expected since ZF's developer need to keep the weight down yet retaining a thick stack height material. Otherwise there are no major complaints. The rocker is not as aggressive as my Tracer but definitely has a better bounce that suits my gait. I'm surprised that despite the weight is heavier than Clayton and Tracer but it doesn't feel that slow at 4:2x pace for controlled effort long run. Yet to do any tempo or faster pace with ZF so I'll be curious to see the effect when pace starts to pick up.

If you want to see my splits do check at: https://www.strava.com/activities/1781877698

Enjoy the fun video I bashed up and credit to Jing Zhi for the support on bike and filming.

Next week will be interesting as I'll be using the Army Half Marathon aka Shear Bridge Run as a simulation workout to Berlin. Do watch out for this space for my next blog. Lastly do share and like if you enjoy the contents.