TRAM PACING

I'm not much of a roadie or one for speed work but last week, stumbling out for a late night run, I inadvertently discovered the ultimate Hong Kong training session. And it doesn't involve running up Victoria Peak or a souless gym treadmill. 

Tram Pacing is a heart attack inducing training session in more way than one. Born out of a spontaneous attempt to latch onto the back of a late night ding ding, the idea is to try and keep up during its journey across Hong Kong. It turns out that it is just about possible. The constant accelertions and decelerations of the tram make for a brutal fartlek session with gut busting sprints followed by breathers when the thing finally stops. The best part is the spectaularly surreal experience of racing down the middle of the road through the centre on Hong Kong at night in a neon lit bubble. If you can keep your heart rate low enough to focus you can even take in some of the sights. Sure, its possibly not the safest run you will ever do but sticking only to the tram lines close behind the tram with some LED lights on gives moderate protection. This few meters of comparative safety provides a real incentive to keep up the pace and not to get dropped, lest you find yourself in the middle of Des Voeux Rd Central dodging buses in a pair of split shorts.

If the last outing is anything to go by it seems to draw more than a few encouraging cheers from tram goers, bus drivers and passers by alike. I'm aiming to get a volunteer on the tram to document a future outing (and possibly hand out drinks) so expect to see more soon.