Malaysian Food and My First Long Run in Melbourne

Had brunch with my aunt at a small Malaysian restaurant. It's called the Coconut House. Serves pretty much the local food you can get in KL, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Lemak, Pan Mee, Curry Laksa, etc.











Didn't do much after lunch. Went back and rested. The weather today was pretty good and sunny, so decided I head out for my run across Yarra River to Tan Track. I wanted to find out where this place is, it seems near in the map. Anyway, I mapped out the run (link) and looks ok to run there.



Each lap of the tan track is around 3.8km. There's a marker each 250m. It's track are mainly smooth gravel and it goes around the scenic Royal Botanic Gardens.





A brief description I got of the tan track can be found on wikipedia and also this link 1 & 2.

"The Tan
There is a 3.8 km running track parallel to the perimeter fence of the Botanic Gardens. Officially termed The Tan Track as it has a surface of tan-coloured stone aggregate, it is more commonly and affectionately known as The Tan.

The Tan originally served as a horse track for Melbourne's well-heeled, and is now one of Melbourne's most frequented locations for joggers. Locals, visitors and famous alike now share the space as its international reputation has grown. The Tan is often used in training by professional athletes, such as AFL footballers, particularly during pre-season time-trials.

Running greats such as Hicham El Guerrouj, Steve Ovett, Cathy Freeman, and Sonia O'Sullivan have all rubbed shoulders with the general public on The Tan.

The quickest lap of the Tan has been held by such notable Australian runners as Robert de Castella and Steve Moneghetti (10:41, 2003). The current record is 10 minutes and 12 seconds, run by Craig Mottram in 2004. On the 21st of December, 2006, Craig Mottram unofficially broke his personal best time around the tan, running a scorching 10 minutes and 8 seconds while running with the Richmond Football Club during their pre-season training. He gave the footballers a two-and-a-half minute head start and still managed to beat them comprehensively."

Well my fastest lap time today was 17 minutes 12 seconds, a full 7 minutes behind Chris. I ran twice clockwise around the track and was wondering why most people are running clockwise. I figured that they are just in for the challenge of a small climb up Anderson St. So lap 3 & 4, I ran clockwise. My GPS wasn't working well today so didnt get a good reading of the distance I've covered. But judging by the map, I guess I've covered around 21km today. I wasn't actually planning for a 21km, more of 15km maybe but since it was so cold, I could go longer. At the end of the 4th lap, I had cramps on my left calf. Then on the way back, nearing the apartment Im staying, I sped and the right calf cramped, so I just jog slowly back. Now I am worried whether this is due to the cold weather or is it just me being unfit. Have not train much since SCKLM.

Anyways, I am glad that I did 21km, at least I got my training started.