John : Lake Gardens Running Route

behold! the lake gardens route mapped out in full glory. For some reason no one seems to have mapped out this rather lovely run route out either online or on paper so i decided to set out and do it myself today. I mapped it on foot and measured it's distance using paces twice (within an accuracy of +/- 5 steps, then compared my distance to a google earth approximate and found almost perfect (-20m) agreement, so i think the route distances are relatively accurate. My route walkthrough follows. :)



The route (handdrawn by me). Yes it looks like crap, you try doing better after walking/running round and round the silly lake. =P Numbers in black represent distance in meters, numbers in green represent stations (more detail below)

The route on googlemap. =)

1

This is where the running track begins. It starts next to a playground (see below) filled with happy little children. Up ahead's the carpark, i think it's free, but is often packed. An alternative parking place is at the museum which charges Rm2 per entrance i think. The track itself isn't rubber, it's gravel which I find to be great since it's less hard on your body then pavement (the worst) or asphalt (which isn't as bad as concrete). While a nice soft treadmill and rubber surface is nice to train on, it doesn't really train/strengthen the parts of your body that help absorb the impact/wear and tear/ road races put on you, so if you don't start getting used to it, the shock your body'll get when you do start running on hard surfaces can really hurt your knees and ankles... ;\



2

Some pusat pertanian tent. The route between 1-2 is actually one of the toughest/easiest (depending on your direction) in the whole route since it's the steepest (uphill/downhill) stretch. =P

3)

The bridge that (in this route) goes across the lake. For some reason or other, it's been dubbed "the drawbridge" by my old running friends (who have all morphed into couch potatoes). =S. It's a nice bridge, but you'll probably end up cursing it after a couple o runs since it's curve is really weird and the route after it is a lil steep.

4)

A white bridge.

5)


End of the official running path, though far from the end of this mapped route. The surface change is really good training since you'll usually do lots of that in a real run so it's good to get used to the slight change of style you need to perform when during switches. ;)

7)


Yes i know this should be 6 and yes i'm too lazy to correct it so live with it! This is "the plant". Yes there are thousands of other plants around but this is "the plant". Heck you gotta have an easy to remember system for stations, you try telling another runner next to you where you're going after running a half a dozen miles around the lake "i'm going...pant pant...up there....you know...bit after the boats...near the corner there...the tunnel theeerreee" vs "i'm running to "the plant"...=P...hahahah~


6)

The underground link between the museum and the park also called "the tunnel" for obvious reasons. A favorite finish line spot. =P

8)


Start of wavy path. Another surface switch. =P

9)

End of wavy path

10)

The turn out. so from the old route which was following the lake, you turn out to the main path. no cheating by running on grass! =P

11)

Lake boating house? we just call it the marina. All the boats are kept here. There's a little food place here (yay ice cream!) and the toilets (see below) are nearby (90m away).


12)

A little rest place next to some weird red thingys (see below). Used to be my traditional waiting spot. =P


I propose lake gardens as a candidate for a 7k race at lake gardens come the 2nd of May (week 15th if you're running on my training schedules). Is there anyone who can't make the date? =P . The term ends on the 26th for those of us who are students.

Suggested route is

(3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,3)*3 + (3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11)*1

It's good to run races to give you a close tangible target to meet. Running in a competitive group will also guarantee you a better time. The 7k is the lowest level that most big marathons will have as a option so it'll be great to start with that. The target pace is usually a little bit faster then the average of your 10k and 5k pace.

Apart from running routes, lake gardens is also a great place to train. There are tons of hilly run routes (not shown on this route) and stair climbs (one that my boxing friends still refer to affectionately as the "fucking staircase") =P. I'm always game for a fun/tough training/group run at the place (I prefer evening runs though...esp when followed by nice dinners *grins*)...

Whew~ I've also mapped and photographed my usual jogging route around my hill (a truly lovely jogging place). Shall upload that route sometime next week. :)

*edit* fixed silly typos and changed date from 3rd to 2nd of may. =P