A long run and a good outcome

This Sunday was my so far longest training by time and distance and I was a little nervous how it will go. For those who like to know the short version: It went well and I am happy with the outcome. Total of ca 38km and 7 hrs of running/hiking. Very pleased.
The somewhat longer version: Started out at 5:30am running the 16km to the bottom of the Teluk Bahang Dam which went well and was uneventful. Met with Martin and Nina at 7:15am, right before sun rise. Martin knows the Laksamana trail and he set the direction and the pace. The track seems to be officially closed. There were some tapes at the entrance and some signs. But we gave it a shot since it didn't rain for a long time. I was very happy to see that I could follow both of them. We reached Bukit Laksamana roughly after 1:30hrs. Bukit Laksamana is higher than Penang hill. Tiger hill is the highest point on Penang island but cannot be hiked. The trail is really technical with ropes supporting the climbs and the descents. We all felt or slipped at least once but without any damage. After 7.5km the track turns into an undulating tar road leading directly to Penang hill which we reached after 3h30 total. We had a tasty Mango juice at the Penang hill juice bar (thanks Nina!) together with estimated 500 other hiker since it was Penang Hill hike day...! But not everybody hiked up, may took the cable car or hitched a hike on a car.
After a short break we started our descent to the entrance of Penang hill. Nina was running down very fast, Martin and I could not follow her. I was cautious not to cramp my legs and Martins toes hurt. Nina was fine, she enjoyed the down hill. Looks like to Warrior running clinic is paying out.
After reaching the bottom we continued our way home, slowly but steadily and reached Quayside after a total of 22k (Martin&Nina) and 38k (me). The sun was burning again on the last 3 km and I really hope that there will be a lot of clouds on race day.
During the whole run/hike I constantly drank, had three energy bars, a fruit juice and some minerals. Was not too tired at the end and could meet Lie Wei for a short motorcycle ride in the afternoon on the island. All in all, a good day!

on the top

close to Penang hill

the A look out of Penang hill 

rain forest, very impressive

having a coconut on our bike ride