Good sunday run from MacRitchie To Botanic Gardens

The group for this Sunday morning run was a lot smaller, about 10 people. Both Toa Payoh and Bukit Merah groups decided to run together as a group towards Botanic Gardens and back. This is the usual route that the Toa Payoh runners take, and for us from the Telok Blangah side, this was pretty new.

The heart rate for most part of the run

We set off well at 7.05am, led by Teh and Wong. I was running a little behind at a slower pace, chatting with Donald, a veteran runner from Toa Payoh. Donald was telling me his adventures with Trialthons, Vertical Marathons, and how he came from the background of a speed runner to take up marathon and long distance running. I was totally immersed in the conversation, and didn't at all feel any strain in the running. Midway, Botanic Gardens, Wong was asking half-in-jest was I ate for dinner the previous night, as I was so full of energy,yakking away. Adam also commented that they were so tired, yet both me and Donald sounded very fresh and relaxed. I guess thats what makes running easy and fun, if you have good company and conversations.

The part out from MacRitchie

The route was nice, and I got to run in Botanic Gardens in its Sunday morning granduer. There were many Tai-Chi and Qi-Gong groups around, and the scenery and air by day is a lot more refreshing that that in the nights (when we usually run). Halfway coming out from the Botanic Gardens, I stopped my HRM accidentally, and had to do a second set timing. Moreover, the whole timing was not so accurate today, since I didn't pay too much attention to it. According to most of the group members, we ran 1.5hrs and approximately 18km. Not bad at all, since I felt like I ran only about 12km or so.

Back at MacRitchie, I bumped into Sukaimi (The Lonely Runner), and he just about started off for his morning run. I also bumped into a Dover Road acquaintance, Mr. Wong, who was on his way to the Treetop walk with a friend. He was pleasantly surprised to see me in such an atheletic form, since the last time he met me was at least 1 year ago, when I was a cigarette-smoking, 82kg-fat, tired-looking guy. I also got a few good tips this time from the SAFRA runners, namely: it is better/acceptable to swim breast-stroke for trialthlons from Donald, and also the Mizuno shoes are a lot more cushiony from Cecilia...hmmm, makes me want to try a Mizuno pair next. Why not?

Distance Ran:18km___Time:1hr30min___Pace:5:20min/km
Average HR:149bpm____Max HR:161bpm____KCal:1,500 est.