Sunday LSD @ Yishun-Seletar Reservoir

After a 10km+ trek at MacRitchie yesterday with some members of the SgRunners (Click here for a good account of the trek), my right leg was slightly sore...hmm, probably not conditioned for so much walking, more for running...haha

This morning, I woke up early for my much anticipated Sunday Run at Yishun with friends from SAFRA MF. I took a cup of coffee and just a banana. I have been eating for the past few days and not running working out much, thus, my glycogen stores should be more than ample for the 20km run this morning. When I reached Yishun Stadium, I met Jaime and Ong who had just arrived by cab. A while later, we saw Kumaran came in by cab. This was the first time in a long while that Kumaran has joined us for a Sunday Run, and he had just 3 hours of sleep the night before. Kumaran later ended the run, asking for more, as he thoroughly enjoyed the outing.

When Adam and Colleen arrived, we set off for our run at about 7.30am. Anticipating a hot day, Wong had his Oakley shades on, and Jaime was armed with her Nike cap. I left my cap, stopwatch, HRM and just about everything at home. My plan was to run slowly, taking this as a mileage accumulation for my marathon in December. Still nursing my ITBS, I was careful not to heat up my left leg ITB tendon too early into the run. We ran from Yishun Stadium, and along Seletar Reservoir, passing Orchid Country Club and into the Seletar Reservoir Dam area. This was about 4km, and a crowd of people were already formed on the banks, picking out fresh catches from the sea. The weather was cool, and my muscles were taking a while longer to get warmed. Chatted with Adam, Ong and Wong about the week's track training, as well as the upcoming marathon preparations. We went on passing Seletar Country Club, and hitting Seletar Base Camp at Jalan Kayu end. We took a 2 minute break to assemble, and then pushed on along Jalan Kayu Road, lined by the famous prata shops on both sides. While I have often driven along Jalan Kayu Road itself, this was the first time I was running along it...

When we reached the other end of Jalan Kayu Road, meeting Yio Chu Kang Road, we made a loop back and after a while, we made our first toilet/drinks stop at a petrol kiosk. Took a 10min break at this 11km mark, and then proceeded to run into Seletar Base Camp. The roads inside the camp will quite busy, and cars were flying by like they were in a rush...wonder why on a Sunday. We ran cautiously by the side of the road, and we pushed all the way to the U-turn point of the normal SAFRA 10km Time-Trial route. We took a 5min walk-break, and with 5km to go, it was free for all. I increased my pace, and at theis point, I could feel a nagging pain in the outer and lower areas of the left knee. It was not crippling, and I could run through it. I kept up the pace, increased my stride, and pushed towards Yishun Stadium. The sun had just come up, but it was ok as I kept to the shady sides of the road curb.

Looking back, my left leg held up pretty well, and a slight nagging pain only started from about the 13km mark, much later than the previous few runs. So there was some improvement, and I hope I will continue to make progress with more stretches, icing and rest. Reached back the start point after 2 hours of running an average 6min/km pace. Not bad for a long run, just that the distance needed to be more. With my current injury, it was a prudent distance, and I expect to increase distance slowly. When all gathered, we had a good round of 100plus drinks, with compliments from Kumaran and SAFRA MF. I proceeded home, whilst the rest went to wash up before having their Jalan Kayu roti prata lunch.

Distance Ran:20km ___Time:2hr____Pace:6min/km
Average HR:N/A___Max HR:N/A___KCal:1500KCal est.