22km Sunday run @ MacRitchie-Seletar Reservoir Loop

I have missed the last 2 Sunday runs with the SAFRA Running Club. I finally made it today. Woke up bright and early at 6.15am, took a banana, 2 cups of coffee, put on my Mizuno apparel, and off I went. I reached MacRitchie at 6.50am, and the usual carpark was full. There was a large group of Toa Payoh members today, probably training for the upcoming GoldCoast Marathon in July.

I did a very rushed warm-up, and off we went. I had to stop to re-tighten my shoelaces, and soon I caught up with the main group. Because some members are still suffering from small injuries, we decided to run on roads, as opposed to starting off at the usual Northern trail route. We ran along Upper Thomson Road, then turned off into Pierce Reservoir Road. We made our first stop after 22min at the toilet at Pierce, and soon Thiam Huat and the rest caught up. From there, we moved on, and soon Derek was up ahead. I decided to follow closely behind him.

After running a good stretch of it along Old Upper Thomson Road, we met Hock Soon. He joined us from that point, and soon Derek and myself hit the first toilet along Mandai/Seletar. We saw Jimmy running back on his return. Derek showed me the way (another 2km to/fro) to the second toilet along Seletar Reservoir. This stretch was pretty quiet and nice to run, with some slight slopes. We hit the second toilet after about 1hr.

We took a quick drink and made our return trip along the same way we came. I was feeling strong to this point, and the banana must have helped. Derek remarked that is I can keep at that pace for longer distances, I will do well for Marathons. Anyway, we were enjoying each other’s company, with conversation revolving about our likely participation at the upcoming Ipoh Marathon in July. I will probably drive up there again with Adam and Chua. As we hit the 1st toilet, we saw Hock Soon and Eng Hwa arriving. They will turn back from there, and since we didn’t see the rest along the way, most of them would have turned back at the end of Old Upper Thomson Road (making their run about 18km). As we hot back along Old Upper Thomson Road, my legs were feeling tired. Derek moved ahead, about 100m in front of me.

I next met Derek at Pierce toilet, and he was surprised to see me catch up with him. He went ahead after his drink, and I followed about 100m behind. As we hit Thomson Road, with about 4km back to MacRitchie, I was feeling pretty drained. The sun was hot, and it was weathering on me. From my high heart rates of 180+, and max heart rate of 186bpm recorded here, it could be seen that I was burning up. Even my legs were burning up. I plodded on, running slowly, and I felt that Derek too slowed down, since my distance from him remained. As I reached MacRitchie, on the wooden bridge, I ran past Adam who was soaked with perspiration. I was too tired to say hello. I went on, and reached the end in exactly 2hrs. A very satisfying, but tired run. After their wash up, I joined the group for brunch at nearby Shunfu estate.

Distance Ran:22km_____Time:2hr_____Pace:5:27min/km
Average HR:154bpm_____Max HR:186bpm_____KCal:1500