Father's Day LSD

Today is Father's Day, and I have a program all lined up, culminating in a big western dinner in the night. So, there was no way I was going to miss this Sunday's run; I better burn sufficient calories so I can indulge myself at night. Already, i gained 1kg from a big lunch and dinner to celebrate my dog's birthday yesterday...haha.

I woke up hungry, grabbed a large bowl of cereal, 2 cups of coffee, and a banana. Hmm...that should be enough fuel to run even a marathon...hehe. Arrived at MacRitchie 6.40am and spotted Eng Hwa and Derrick, also just arrived. By 7am, we had Adam, Goola, Colleen, Yuen, Sok Hwa, and also Tay Lee Huat (TLH) & Ronald from TP. Since we ran the Seletar Reservoir Route last Sunday, we decided to go the Bukit Timah route, which will be about 22km to/fro. The army was having a run event too, and they had stations set up already.

We started off slow along the Northern Route, and I started chatting with Colleen most of this way. We spoke a bit about the upcoming Milk Run, and a host of other stuff, including MP3 music for running. Our pace was rather relaxed, and very soon, I had nice babes saying 'excuse mua'...of course I gave way hurriedly, and they passed, panting as they went. I was amused that for once, I was in the way of other runners in the woods...and they were very patient with me....haha.

We exited the trail in 24min, and compared with last week's 21min, this was like slow. No wonder, those babes had to overtake me...haha. We continued along the SICC road, and up the slopes. Because we had so much energy reserved, we climbed the slopes very easily...Almost caught up with the babes...they were like panting relentlessly by now. When our whole group gathered shortly, we turned into the trail towards Bukit Timah Reserve. This was familiar territory, and it feels so gooood.. to run the trails again. I had my trail-runners on, but still could feel that the grounds were wet. We ran carefully, and soon arrived at the road leading to the Visitor Centre. We ran on, and soon arrived at the guard house. Goola, Adam and a few others took the trail route towards the Visitor Centre, while Derrick, Eng Hwa, Ronald, TLH and myself took the road that runs further up ahead, and leading all the way to Bukit Timah Road. The five of us eventually ran the stretch of Bukit Timah Road back, whilst the other group went to the Visitor Centre...

The 5 of us continued along Bukit Timah Road towards Adam Road. There seemed to be quite a few cars on the road by then. We should have run this stretch earlier in the morning instead. Maybe we can do this stretch first the next time, running this entire route in reverse. As we were approaching a Petrol Station for a break, someone gestured and shouted Derrick's name from the overhead bridge. We looked up and saw this guy in a ‘stylo-mylo’ yellow suit waving at us. He was wearing a sporty helmet, with cool shades to boot. At first we thought it could be some Traffic Police or even a news reporter wanting to capture our running adventures. When he removed his helmet, we then realized it was Adrian, our doctor runner at MF. He later came down and told us he had cycled for about 30+km, about equivalent to 10km effort in terms of running. He wished he could break into the huge sweat we all were wearing. Adrian's racer and gear looked cool indeed. I think running gear should also look something like that...hehe.

After that short conversation, we picked up speed towards the turn into Adam Road. We estimated that there was another 8km to go. Since the roads were flat, and there were not much scenery left to admire, we moved quickly, turning left into Adam Road, crossing 2-3 highway exit/entrance points. As we neared Lornie Road, Derrick and I decided to turn back into the MacRitchie Trail, instead of running ahead with TLH and Ronald on the road. As we turned in, I recognized this part of Lornie Trail, the midpoint of the MR25 5km Time Trial Route. The cool shade from the forest was welcoming after the blazing sun on Adam/Lornie Road. Derrick and I sped up, and ran a very quick pace, climbing 2 muddy slopes, all the way to the zig-zag bridge and finally ending back at the carpark toilet area, where we started. We ran an estimated 19km in 2hrs, with about 10-15min stoppage time. I felt very strong all the way till the end. It was most likely due to the great fuel I added in my morning breakfast. I told myself, if I were to run long and need lots of energy, I need to at least have a banana or 2 in future. I had to rush off for my next appointment with my family, and did not have breakfast with the group. I could do with an even longer run, if I had more time today, but I was happy to have done my weekly LSD (Long Slow Distance) run.

Distance Ran:19km___Time:1hr50min___Pace:5:47min/km
Average HR:N/A____Max HR:N/A____KCal:1400 est.