Week 6 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total mileage: 25km(2 days)

Mon: Rest

Tues: Swim

Wed: 14.7km barefoot (hilly asphalt)

Thurs: Swim

Fri: Swim / 10.5km barefoot (hilly asphalt) / Swim

Sat: Swim

Sun: Mt. Kinabalu Recce

Recovering well from the swelling on my right foot, and recovered full movement by Wednesday though there was some minor swelling and ache still.

Sun: Had initially planned to to ascend to laban rata at 6km+. Slipped on shoes within several hundred metres, made a u-turn @ 2km instead. Enjoyed the rest of my walk barefooted again.

Lessons learnt:-

a) Not withstanding the fact that I am new to barefooting, the terrain is uneven, full of sharp stones and a tough hell of a mountain. Don't expect a good timing if you were to do it barefooted; doing so in itself is already achieving a great feat.

b) My ears hurt terribly from the pressure once above 1.5km with 7km more ascending to the peak. Major acclimatization problem.

c) My fitness level now probably allows me to run moderately long distances on flat terrain comfortably. I lack alot of the strength that is required for hill/ skyrunning.

Full recovery from the pain in my right foot, praise the Lord! I want to enjoy my running as much as I should, and I plan to jolly well do that for the next 4 weeks before tapering instead of pressuring myself. It does not matter how fast I run this race, it's more about how much I enjoy running fast. If not I will still plod on with the biggest smile.