A Evening Run to The Esplanade/Marina Promenade

This evening's run was a long one for me, as I was to follow Derek and Paul to reach all the way to the end of Marina Promenade and back, making it a 19km distance. The weather was fine, though a little humid. The turnout was good with close to 20 runners in all.

We started off at a reasonable pace, and soon I found myself running along Alexandra Road, and then turning off to Zion Road, where there was a canal. This was a better access way to The Promenade, and certainly beats the traffic-laden road. I remembered we took this canal path recently too. Anyway, soon we were at the Grand Corpthorne, and the entrance to the long path leading to the Esplanade. At this point, the runners decided to pick up pace, with Derek, Paul and then Wong moving up. I followed close behind since I wanted to run the full length to Marina Promenade.

Somewhere prior to reaching the 1st toilet at The Esplanade, I lost the front runners. When I reached The Esplanade, I decided to run ahead without visiting this water point. This was an additional 2.5km stretch to the Marina Promenade, and as I near it, I was hoping to see Wong, Paul or Derek run back. I didn't catch any of them, until we were about 1km to the end point, when Derek and Paul ran up to me. Then I knew they went to visit the toilet at The Esplanade. We made a stop at the toilet when we reached MP, and I had my first sip of water. Paul mentioned that he was feeling a little tired and was going to jog slowly on the return.

We had already run 50+ mins by then, and we started on the return at a comfortable pace. Derek was urging us to run faster, but I decided to take the slower pace as there was still at least 9km to go. I soon lost sight of them, and I made a water stop at The Esplanade toilet. I didn't catch them, and decided to make my way back to the ClubHouse alone. After running for another 1km, I heard someone call me, and I realized it was Paul and Derek. They were once again behind me. They probably waited for me, and I didn't see them earlier. From that point on, it was a matter of endurance, as Paul has aptly put it. I was still feeling OK, and had a little reserve. The banana I took prior to the run also gave me the strength I needed to push on. I finally reached the ClubHouse with about 1hr45min of running. It was another good long run for me...hmmm, these few times, I have managed to run more than 15km for weekly night runs....not bad a deal.

Distance Ran:19km___Time:1hr43min___Pace:5:24min/km
Average HR:N/A____Max HR:N/A____KCal:1200 est.