Back to Work and into Week 5 Antelope Canyon Training Cycle

After two weeks off, it was back to work for me. I was looking forward to escaping the cold Canadian winter, but not the long flight there and back.  My trips to Hong Kong are usually 3 days in length, two of those days are spent in the airplane.

Monday was another speed session. This week we did 4 laps of just under 1 kilometre around the school.  I have a love hate relationship with speed work because it hurts so much, just like hill training. This week was not my best performance, but happy to have 3 out of the 4 laps under 5 minutes per kilometre. I am still chasing down the rest of the group and always wanted to throw up at the end of each loop. 

I had set my alarm to wake up early to try to get in a short run on the treadmill before my flight to Hong Kong, but I ended up snoozing and only getting in some stretching and strengthening work in before it was time to head out for the morning flight to Hong Kong.

When I arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday, I knew that there was no way I would be able to do any kind of exercise. The flight to Hong Kong was exhausting.  Maybe it was because it was the two weeks off from flying. I ended up sleeping from the moment I got into my hotel room to until the next day. It was the first time that I had slept so much on a layover.

I woke up early Thursday morning in Hong Kong and headed out to do my usual Lion Rock Hill trail run/climb.  Hong Kong has an extensive trail system that is easily accessible by public transit and for people of all ages and athletic abilities.  Lion Rock Hill is a mountain that is about a half hour train ride from the hotel.  Lion Rock is the 52nd highest mountain in Hong Kong standing at 495 metres high.  I was pretty tired from the get go, but always try to do the hike from one side of the mountain to the other in 2 hours.  The trail is usually quiet in the early mornings, but can get busy as day goes on. This morning was quiet. The first section of the trail is fairly flat and is near apartments, so there is usually quite a number of seniors out for their morning walks.  I start at Ma On Shan Country Park.

My Strava Stats

I will write another post on this hike as it deserves it's own post.  I eventually end up at the start of Lion Rock Country Park and this is where the climbing starts.  This is a fairly quick but quite painful climb. I like to call it nature's stair climber. I do my best to keep moving. I run the flats as much as I can and crawl up the steep climbs. 

As this is the wild, there are animals that can be seen along the trails. It's usually monkeys, but on this run, I ran into a wild boar. I was coming along the side of the mountain in a flat section and could hear rustling in the bush.  It sounded louder and heavier than usual and sure enough the boar popped out onto the side of the trail and I stopped in my tracks. I was all alone and was frozen. I decided to step back and give the boar some space, but the only say to continue on the trail would be to pass the boar.  I didn't want to go back as it would only bring me back down the mountain, so I stood back and waited until I heard the rustling and snorting get further away.  I dashed across the trail and continued to climb the mountain.  I wish I had my phone out to snap a photo, but was I was freaked and in shock.  

Endless Mountains 

Taking a quick Break

Once I made it to the top out of breath and exhausted, I took a moment to take in the spectacular views. It was a pretty clear day as there had been cold front that had come through Hong Kong that week. Winds were from the north which was chilly for locals, but for this Canadian gal, I was loving the "warm" temperature. 

More Views

It always amazes me how they built this city in between all these massive mountains.  When I first starting flying to Hong Kong 14 years ago, I never knew that there was such an extensive trail system. I always just thought of Hong Kong as a big metropolis.  

After a quick water break, I headed back down the mountain to get back to the hotel to get ready for my flight home.

It was SO HARD getting up on Friday. We had decided to do one of our long runs this week on the road. We were supposed to run 32 kilometres , but it was pouring rain for the entire run. We ended up with 27 kilometres. I was completely exhausted and many thanks to my run buddies who kept me company and moving for the entire time. I'm sure they would have finished much earlier as they are much faster runners, but they stayed with me and encouraged me to finish.  We were all soaked to the core after 3 hours in the rain.  Everything was numb.  I headed home to a hot shower and a quick nap before picking up the kids from school. Mom life is never ending.

Smiling because I'm DONE!

The alarm went off at 5 am Saturday morning for another long run. My buddy picked me up and we headed out to pick up another buddy to run some road and trails. 

Dawn

I am very fortunate to live close to some trails. There are paved sections that lead into the woods. I was hurting from the previous runs.  I'm glad I had friends who showed up at my door and dragged me out. Once I started moving it wasn't so bad. Thankfully there was no rain and it had warmed it a little bit. The rain had washed away most of the snow.  It was nice to be back in the trails.

I was elated to finish this week of training. Three days of hard running had be completely bagged. My legs were sore and my body was tired.  I was ready to take Sunday off.   I was off to more mom duties before a night to celebrate a friend's birthday and another week of training done.

My Clan 

How was your week? Anyone race? Are you ready for the Christmas Holidays?