Botanic Gardens & The Prata Place

Today is the last Sunday run prior to the Singapore Marathon 2005 next Sunday, Dec 4. The plan was to run a reasonable pace from SAFRA MF thru Ridley Park to Botanic Gardens and back. I have pre-arranged to meet some SgRunners for a fun run within Botanic Gardens, then have carbo-reloading at Prata Place, before I will run back to the ClubHouse.

I am still in the recovery process of my flu which began on Wed. My nose was still blocked as I ran with DO, LKY and the rest of the SAFRA runners along the Delta Canal towards Ridley Park. I felt tired as well, since I had less than 3 hours of sleep due to the blocked nose. As we hit the Delta Canal, I asked DO to move up to join the front runners and I was not prepared to go with his faster pace. We ran all the way to Botanic Gardens, and met up with Brokie, Tiwazz, cosmic_wind. The rest of the SAFRA gang moved on. We ran a nice loop around Botanic Gardens. There were many runners, qi gong exercisers and walkers on this Sunday afternoon. Though it was sunny, the air was chilly, and really made for very nice running. I was in fact feeling a little cold. After one loop, me and Tiwazz decided to stop and the rest carried on for another round. We subsequently convened and went to Prata Place at SMU for very nice teh-tarik, milo dinosaur and banana and mushroom-cheeze prata. We ate and chatted for some time, and were later joined by Kops and his sweetheart.

After I had my coffee, I bade the group goodbye and made my way back to the clubHouse with a 50min run. The air was still cool. I had some initial stitches due to the food I took, but it eased as I ran on. Did a reasonable pace, and reached the ClubHouse feeling drained. My legs were feeling good, but my breathing was rather heavy, not too smooth. I covered an estimated total distance of about 20km in 1hr 50min. There are only 2 more runs remaining for the week before D-Day, a 8km on Tue and another 8km on Thursday. Looking forward to resting my body for the big race.

Tapering Week 1: Run into Sentosa

I was not feeling too well today. Went to see a doctor, and he prescribed me with a bag of medicine and told me to rest at home (MC). Also went to Amanda's school to collect her PSLE results. She has done very well and will apply probably to the top girl's school. I was also supposed to meet up with SgRunner DO aka David to help him sign-up for SAFRA Running Club membership as well as do a tapering run with him to Sentosa.

I was feeling quite ok, albeit with a runny nose and a ticklish throat. Met up with DO at abt 6.30pm, and intoduced some of the SAFRA runners to DO. We started running at about 6.50pm, while the sky was still bright. We did quite a fast pace, led by trainer Ong, Teck Hou and Derrick. Freddy was also up in front. DO and myself were just right behind. As I ran, I felt better and soon was running quite fast once we got into Sentosa. Chin and Freddy also got into the front pack, and soon we lost the rest of the runners. We did part of the Real Run Route. After 25min of running, we were at the Beach toilet point for our break. A real quick one here, and off went our front group of runners. DO mentioned later that we did a blistering pace, and I felt so too. It was the pent-up energy in the few front-runners that really pushed the group to run so fast. Anyway, it was supposed to be 12km.

We made a wrong turn and ended up running quite a few slopes. I was panting a little already. Soon we found our way out, and it was speedy all the way out too. I led DO to run a slightly shorter way back to ClubHouse. I finished the run strong. My legs felt fine, except for a badly bruised toe which is a irritation. I hope the toe will recover in time for SCSM. Bumped into the Saucony sales person and we had a good chat with her, and I might get a pair for next year's training. Went dinner with the group, and DO joined us as well.

Distance Ran:13km ___Time:1hr10min____Pace:5:24min/km
Average HR:N/A___Max HR:N/A____KCal: 800 est.

I'm inspired

Someone just pointed me to this video of Julie Moss, crawling her way to the most dramatic finish of a Ironman race. It shows the human spirit and determination of these endurance atheletes. I finally understood whet they meant when they say 'If I have to crawl to the finish line, I will'.

The Inspiring Video

Tapering Week 1: 2 Short runs

The countdown is ON. 12 days to D-Day...SCSM05. Started this week with a recovery run yesterday around my estate. Did a 11km in what might me the best weather I have experienced in a long time. I was chatting with Beverly, that if such weather occus on race day, many people will do their PBs. Beverly also is getting motivated with all this training, and she is planning to do a 21km next year...hmmm, I guess that should be the max I am encouraging her to do for now. Finished the run in much faster timing than normal, about 1hr6min...approx 6min/km pace.

This evening did a 10km tempo run at SAFRA down to Ridley Park, to Dempsey and then looping back along Tanglin Rd and back through the Zion Canal. We started off in light rain at 6.50pm, and I ran mostly all through at about 5-5:15min/km pace, wanting to get some faster tempo in for this short run. Finished the whole run in good form, feeling very good, and had a nice dinner with the SAFRA gang after.

Will be doing another short one this Thurday to Sentosa. Sunday will be a 16km to/fro Botanic Gardens. I have arranged to meet SgRunners at BG to do our loop runs, and then go and try the teh-tarik and pratas at The Prata Place near SMU. I will take the opportunity to check out the track and swimming pool plus facilities at SMU.

Sunday Tempo Run To Marina South

This was a fine Sunday for a mid-distance run. I was scheduled to run from SAFRA MF to Marina South, meet up with a few SgRunners arriving from ECP and The Esplanade, do a 5km loop run, before heading back to SAFRA Clubhouse. I woke up slightly later, felt fresh, took a cup of coffee and a banana, and headed to the SAFRA. There was quite a big turnout today, including some runners from Tiong Bahru as well as friends of Francis. Andre also brought a friend along. I bumped into runalone/Freddy who has just joined SAFRA Running Club.

After a photo taking session to celebrate Wong's birthday, we started off at 7.30am. Immediately Kumaran, Jimmy Chow and Derrick sped off. Freddy also went ahead with Ong. I also upped my pace as I had to get to Victor's Superbowl by 8.15am to meet up with SgRunners. It was a good 5.30min/km pace for me. I ran along Keppel Rd, then onto Shenton Way and met Colleen and William which was waiting near the MAS Building. They had awoken late, and was there to meet up. The 3 of us ran along into Marina South, and chatted about the couple's preparations for their new home. As we entered Marina South, I saw Bug, Slacker & Flip running in the opposite direction. Bug mentioned that the SgRunners were already at Victor's. I increased pace and soon reached Victor's and I saw that the rear group was already there...probably they took the shorter route. As I ran in I saw Tiwazz and Bee. I went to the toilet for a refill of water, and when I came out the whole SgRunners gang of Brokie, Sotong, leh-lio girl, Roger, Alvo, cosmic_wind, 136 commando was gathered. We gathered and exchanged greetings, and soon runalone and CheeryRunner/Jaime also came to say hello. We heard the renohtaram/Chris had turned back because of an injury, and we decided to go for our loop run.

We ran a good 2 loops around Marina South covering about 6km in 35min. It was a fun run and we chatted as we went. Hmm...leh-lio is not bad a runner, this being the first time I see her run. Bee is good too. 136 which had run 40km yesterday, was very sporting to join us for the loop run. The pace was good at about 5.20min/km. Brokie was looking strong and I remarked she could make her PB again for her 21km at SCSM05. After the loop run, we shared some 100plus, talked shop for a good 15min before running out of Marina South. As we reached Shenton Way, I waved all goodbye as I headed left towards Keppel Road. The rest were running towards Esplanade and some will go on back to ECP. I was on my own again, as I ran at a good easy pace. The sun was up, but wasn't as bad as last week. There was good cloud cover. When I reached the ClubHouse, I was just in time to join in the cake celebrations for Wong. I had some 100plus, a piece of cake, and some water melon. It was a good run for me today. I covered about 26km with a good mid-section of rest in between. For this coming week, I suspect I will be doing a lot more shorter runs, hopefully on more days, as part of my tapering mileage.

Distance Ran:26km ___Time:2hr25min____Pace:5:35min/km
Average HR:N/A___Max HR:N/A____KCal: 2,000 est.

The start of tapering and decreasing mileage for SCSM05

This week is the start of tapering and decreasing mileage for me ahead of SCSM05, after completing my final LSD of 39km on Sunday. I had a relatively fast recovery run at SAFRA MF on Tuesday, running to Canterbury Estates and then a loop around Labrador Park, before heading back along Telok Blangah Way. I felt good surpisingly, given the short time I had for recovery. Did 13km at 5:28min/km pace, in 1hr13min.

I met up with SgRunners in the west for a WestSide Run on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the heavy rains did not stop in time, and a group of 6 of us proceeded to the food alley along Upper Bukit Timah for very good carbo loading, and had my first milo dinosaur. It was a fun time nevertheless catching up wth running friends @ SgRunners.

I did a 16km run at Sentosa on my own where I was having a holiday with my extended family. A very nice run for me, considering that I did not run on Wednesday and had eaten quite a fair bit. I had my brother to manage the entire BBQ pits, and with all the kids in the swimming pool, I was able to do 1.5 laps of the Real Run route, skipping by the sandy portions along Tanjong and Siloso Beaches, running the roads instead. Had a very good mid-distance run of 1hr25min, 5:22min/km pace.

My final run for the week for will a 20km on Sunday from SAFRA MF Clubhouse. May extend the distance by a bit then, depending on the SgRunners I will meet at Victor's Superbowl in Marina South. Looking forward to this relaxed run.

Final 40km LSD before SCSM05

Went down to SAFRA MF today for the 40km run of the SCSM route. When I reached the Clubhouse, there was a large group of Toa Payoh runners starting their 15km run from Mt. Faber. The TP group have already started to taper, and are down to 15km for their Sunday runs. I took a hasty breakfast of cereal, and forgot my bananas. I put on my Patt Strap as well to avoid having my ITB flare up during the long run. I saw runalone from SgRunners who have just joined SAFRA MF doing his warmup. He did tell me he was to try this 40km route and will run with SAFRA for the first time.

We started promptly at 7am. I took an easy pace, and was with the main group for at least the first 10km. Runalone was with trainer Ong in front. Alan Chao and Kumuran had already zoomed ahead and was running their faster pace. The weather started well, and we soon reached Marina South. On the way, we could see the MR25 Secret 10km race being conducted...the usual suspects of Tony Seakins, JJ and Mika Kume were leading the pack. We took a break at the Marina Bowling Centre. We continued back out of Marina South, moved to Shenton Way, ran towards Kallang and all the way to Fort Road. The sun was rearing its head, and was beating on us fiercely. I had to take more sips of water, and just before Fort Road entrance to East Coast Parkway, I caught up with Ong and runalone/Freddy. Ong said that was 21km and a quick check of the watch showed 2hr05min...quite a good 6min/km pace.

We turned back and ran for another 1km before stopping for a break at the Petrol kiosk. The rest of the runners were already breaking there. I took my PowerGel at this point, and downed it with some 100plus. We proceeded on towards the Kallang Riverside, and the sun was really hot by then. My legs were starting to get tired, and even Ong was slowing down. Runalone went ahead, and after about another 5km or so, we took a break at the entrance to the Marina Promenade. After this break, Ong told us to go ahead as he was feeling the strain of the weather. Runalone, Chua, Sok Hwa, Hock Soon and myself moved on. My steps were getting smaller, and I was feeling the strain too. We passed The Esplanade, but didn't stop for any break. We moved on till we reached Collyer Quay, and took our final toilet break there. Chua was saying we might have 8km more to reach back to ClubHouse. I picked up my heavy legs and followed the front pack of Chua and Sok Hwa. Hock Soon had by now dropped behind. Along Keppel Road, the heat was unbearable as it was the overhead sun beating on us. We moved on and I made a temporary stop at around the Sentosa Entrance point for a breather, waiting for traffic lights. Chua and sh have moved ahead already. I realized they took the slightly longer route towards Telok Blangah Way. I followed suit, but at a very slow pace...might be even 7min/km by then. I was aiming to hit Morse Road, but that seemed so far away.

After some chugging, I reached Keppel Hill. From there, I emptied my water bottles and trudged towards Telok Blangah Road. The stretch of Telok Blangah Road never looked so long and hilly to me before...must be my tiredness getting the better of me. Soon I saw Ong walking in front, and I too started to walk for about 100m. With about 300m to go, I started to run and ran past Ong to reach the ClubHouse in 3hr53min. Ong later confirmed the distance to be 39km. I felt so drained and took lots of 100plus and cold water-melon. They were great, thanks to the preparations done by Chairman, Adam and Yean. I did my stretches, washed up, and headed straight for home where I had to prepare for the SgRunners' Lim Hgee Huat event. It was the longest preparatory run I did so far for SCSM, and I was sure glad it was done. I will now look forward to tapering mileage for the next 3 weeks before my virgin Marathon. I hope all this preparations will put me in good stead.

Distance Ran:39km ___Time:3hr53min____Pace:5:57min/km
Average HR:158bpm___Max HR:183bpm____KCal: 3,132 est.

My 2nd run with the Westside Runners

The Westside runners comprise of SgRunners who work or live in the western sector. I have joined in their first weekly run 2 weeks ago, and had much fun. This evening, we were supposed to do a casual 12km, and I was going to meet Bug whom I have yet to meet. There were 3 groups of runners meeting at different points, culminating at the Dog Unit along Ulu Pandan area.

The weather forecast was for heavy rains, and the skies did look gloomy. I met up with Yankee, Tiwazz, Balasing at Phase Zero along Buona Vista, before proceeding to meet Bug at the MRT, and then running to the start of the canal at Ghim Moh. Seemed like whr and spectre had already gone ahead to meet the rest of the group waiting at Dog Unit Canal. We ran at quite a fast pace as we didn't want the rest to wait too long. After some 2km, we saw a group of runners stretching along the canal, and as we got closer, we shouted 'SgRunners!' and started high-fiving and some hand-shaking. Runalone, Kops21 & friend, Freddy, Flip, Slacker, whr, Spectre, LaoKaYu was happy to see us, just as we were happy they were still waiting for us. The group immediately merged and the running continued.

We ran along Clementi Road down along Pasir Panjang Road and then turned towards to the MacDonald's at West Coast Park. We chatted and updated one another as we ran. The chit-chat pace was quite comfortable for all, and I found that Kops' friend was also a 10km specialist, and immediately introduced him to Tiwazz who would provide some tailgating tips. Along the way, we didn't see any babes running, but saw 2 6-Pack hunks ran past...I shouted to Flip but she was too blur to take a good look...hahaha. Just her luck, she was more focused on her running, I guess. As we reached the MacD, Kops and friend dropped the pace a little while the rest of us ran ahead to use the toilet. The night was cool, and the ground was wet, but we were not caught in the rain at all. The rains had stopped just before we reached that place. After the break, we proceeded on and picked up the pace as there were some lightning flashes. Led by runalone, we went fast and very soon reached a bus-stop. I realized the group of kops, balasing, tiwazz, yankee had broken off from us. Fortunately we had Flip and her handphone, acting like an experienced army signaller, communicating with Balasing on the other end. The rest of us took the opportunity to catch a breather. By then we had covered about 10km.

We finally agreed to meet up with Balasing & gang at Dog Unit Canal, which was about 3.5km away. We ran quickly to IBP, and Spectre bidded goodbye. LaoKaYu also proceeded to run back to his home in Choa Chu Kang, some 8km away. The rest continued on to Dog Unit and we were running pretty fast along the canal. I was feeling ok, despite my 17km hills run yesterday. I was having a good run with runalone, Freddy, whr in front, when we met Balasing & Yankee coming from the reverse direction. We decided to split ways from there, and the bigger group ran back to IBP from there. Bala, YK, whr and myself ran another 2km to the canal at Ghim Moh. It was getting late, and a time check showed it was already 9.30pm. whr bade farewell and went on home for his brown rice dinner. The remaining three of us ran back to Phase Zero and did a wash up, while waiting for Tiwazz to meet us. The 4 of us then had a good dinner and story-telling at the Clementi food Court till 11pm before dispersing. I even snapped a photo of 2 fresh sotongs at the BBQ stall for a show-and-tell later on. I think we ran about 15km. I did not set my timer on, and was just enjoying the run. My legs felt ok, though all of us were famished by the time we finished. Another enjoyable western sect run.

Hitting The Hills

My legs still felt tired after the Sunday LSd of 32km....not enough rest again, I guess. This evening, we were to do hill runs to Kent Ridge Hill & Mt. Faber. I put on my Patt Sstrap for fear my ITB may act up again. Just as we were about to start at 7pm, it started to rain. After waiting for about 10min, we proceeded amidst slight drizzle.

As I ran, I felt strong. I upped my pace and soon was with the 2nd group of Ong, Derrick, Lai Chee. Alan had zoomed ahead (he is a lot stronger since his run at the Nairobi Marathon)...my is he fast or what. Kumaran had a hard time trailing Alan. We ran a good pace all the way through Portsdown Rd, then up onto Kent Ridge hills. I did 4 loops of those hills, and it was really great for the lungs. However I was careful on the downslopes. My ITB did not act up, and it seemed that the Patt Strap really helped. I took a quick toilet break, and gathered with the group on top of Kent Ridge Park. We had by then ran about 9km in 52min...not a bad pace at all.

From there, we proceeded down slope and all the way to Morse Road and then Mt. Faber. Along the way, Teck Hou asked me about my running blog, and we chatted a little. He soon went on to catch up with the frontrunners. We took a quick break at the Shell Petrol station at the foot of Mt. Faber, before proceeding up Morse Road. This is the longest route up Mt. Faber, and we estimated it to be a 300-400m 55deg climb...relatively steep. I chugged along and made it up in one good piece, and from there decided to do just the single loop, and ran all the way back to clubhouse. It was a painless run on my knees, thanks to the Patt Strap. I shall try the strap again for the Sunday 40km LSD to see how far it will bring me.

Distance Ran:17km ___Time:1hr38min____Pace:5:47min/km
Average HR:N/A___Max HR:N/A____KCal: 1,210 est.

A 30km+ LSD, finally...

It started to drizzle as I was getting out the door for my 30km lsd with SAFRA MF. This will be the second last 30km+ run I will have before the SCSM05 Marathon. Strong winds were blowing, as I put on my pre-mixed powergel canister onto my fuel belt. I reached the Clubhouse at 6.45am, and saw Renohtaram, Cheow12 from SgRunners, as well as Eng Hwa and Goola. cosmic_wind was there as well. The rain got heavier and we waited for it to stop. Derrick, Kumaran, Yuen, Wong, Ong and Jaime all waited as well. A few other runners were with us too; Hock Soon, Lee Huat, Yean.

Finally the rains trickled down to a light one at 8am. We ran after a quick brief, and this morning, we will run from Telok Blangah, down to Keppel Road, then to Marina South all the way to the Superbowl Centre, making a loop and then going back up Keppel Road, before entering Sentosa for a 10km Real Run route, before making our way back along Telok Blangah Rd back to ClubHouse. That would have been a distance of 32km, as measured by trainer Ong's Polar r200sd. The weather was good for running, and we ran a good 6min/km pace interspersed with some faster dashes as and when the route allowed. We made a stop at Marina South after 11km for a water break. Along the way, bumped into a few SAFRA TP runners doing their 35km. After the break, we resumed at good speed all the way before making a quick toilet break along Keppel Road. From there, it was no nonsense running to the entrance of Sentosa. Another group decided to cut their run short, and headed back to Clubhouse.

As we entered Sentosa, I picked up pace and by the time we reached the visitor centre area, we had run 18km already. As we covered some slopes along the Real Run route, my knees started to ache a little, and I pushed on. By the time we hit tanjong beach, my ITB had flared up. I did not stop but slowed down drastically. I continued to run slowly until the 6km mark of the route has been covered and we made a final toilet stop. We waited for quite a bit here for Cheow and renohtaram to come in. After checking that they were familiar with the way back, our first group decided to push on. I started slowly again, after resting for a while. My ITB still hurt, and I ran slowly all the way up to the jungle trail. Ong had caught up by then with us, and from there, they pushed for the remaining 6km back to the ClubHouse. I felt ok, and by the time I was back at the sentosa entrance, my legs were tired. We had covered something like 29km by then. With 3km more to go, I chugged along, with the distance of Derrick, Kumaran and Ong drawing further away from me. I continued at a slower pace for the final stretch, before finally completing the run in 3hr12min. A check with Ong showed that we ran 32km. At least I have finished a 30km+ run these 2 weeks.

Looking forward to do another next Sunday. My legs felt sore from both PF & ITB. I did some stretches, and reverse draining of the legs (hmm...this feels good). After a quick bath, we met up at the nearby hawker centre for some simple fare.

Distance Ran:32km ___Time:3hr12min____Pace:5:59min/km
Average HR:154bpm___Max HR:170bpm____KCal: 2,472

Hari Raya Run @ MR with The SgRunners

SgRunners @ MacRitchie For Hari Raya Run

It started to rain last evening, after a few days of sunny weather. The SgRunners had planned for a Hari Raya Run at MacRitchie (MR) this morning 7.30am. We were supposed to run 2 loops of the MR 10.5km route. Because of the heavy rain, we planned for a wet weather program that allowed us to skip the muddy trails. We were happy we did that, because it rained till the morning. When I awoke, it was still raining. Immediately saw a few sms in my phone asking for weather conditions, and such. I sent back to the people that we should still go and execute Option 2 (From MR -> Thomson Road -> Lower Pierce -> Old Upper Thomson Road -> Upper Pierce -> Air-cond road -> back in reverse. That would be about 19-20km.

I just took a cup of coffee, since I was only going to do a recovery run, so no need for much breakfast. I reached MR at 7.30pm and saw Tiwazz, BrokenRunner, YankeeII, Roger, cosmic_wind, Sotong, Mrs. Sotong, Superboy already waiting at the carpark. Shortly we were joined by taz, Alvo, Meteor, yojanjan and hubby. Commando was around too, in his boots, and he planned to do a 21km x-country run and meet us later for prata. We waited for the last guy, CyberKinetic and started off at about 8am. The rains had stopped by then, and the weather was cool and excellent. We ran slowly along Thomson Road. Traffic and air was good as cars were few because of the Public Holiday. I was told that the MR25 and SAFRA groups had started off earlier at 7am. We chit-chatted as we ran, and there were some updates given by one another. It was fun. We turned into Lower Pierce Road after about 25min of running, and moved towards the toilets for our first water break. I left my fuel belt in the car, since it was such a cool day, and distance was not long. As we moved on towards OUTR, MR25 runners together with Carine were making their way back. I also bumped into the SAFRA runners, among them Jimmy, Eric, and many more. As we reached Casuarina Road, we were met by DO near the prata place. It was a pleasant surprise. DO decided to make his way there to meet us and show the SgRunners some interesting MR25 running routes.

The very scenic air-cond road

A very satisfied group after the air-cond road experience

We ran along OUTR in good weather. There weren't too many cyclists today; only a group passed us along the beginning of OUTR. We ran for about 3km and reached the main gate to Upper Pierce Reservoir. Brokie mentioned that she had not entered that road before, and had previously (in her run with Carine & Ultraman) taken only the whole stretch of OUTR. The rest of the people too had not entered that stretch. We waited for the rest to come in, and decied to take this more challenging road of 2 slopes and also leading to air-conditioned road. Along the way we saw the usual monkeys. Roger, Superboy was running ahead, while cosmic and myself and taz with Brokie, Yankee was just drafting behind...haha...Soon we reached the junction to air-cond road. Some went to take a water break, and we gathered for another nice group photo. Thanks to Sotong who had brought his camera along. We ran into air-cond road and tiwazz, Yankee and the rest really enjoyed the cool breeze in there. We were sharing some jokes about how nice it will be to bring gfs and babes to go running in these nice scenic places, and pretending to get lost, especially in the evenings...hehe. With such lighter moments, all of us felt strong and no fatigue was really felt. On the return, some more interesting photos of us running were taken...good for the album.

On the return to the start point, we decided to increase pace slightly. We had already covered about 11km, with 9km more to go. The kenyan-styled Brokie and Roger charged up the slopes effortlessly, and Superboy was enjoying the push too. I was following behind, and gestured to the rest a trail road we could take (next time perhaps) to Ngee Soon Rifle Range, and then to Seletar Reservoir. It was a nice tempo stretch of run for all. We gathered at the gates for all to finish, and again, nice photos were snapped. From there we ran back along OUTR, where we came from, and made a stop at the Lower Pierce toilet for our final water break. Over there we waited for about 15min, and decided to move ahead when we did not see Yojanjan, DO, Cyberkinetic. We found out later they had gone for early carbo-loading at Casuarina Rd roti-prata place...they were felling hungry already...hahaha. We about 4km left to MR, it was free for all, and we ran at a good fast pace all the way. The sun was still not out. This was one of the nicer runs for me along this stretch, cos it was normally very sunny when I reach here in my previous runs. We made it back to Little Sisters Of The Poor, then took the wooden bridge, and I did a final burst run with taz. There was a big crowd of people strolling along the pavement towards the entrance of The Northern Route. We had to zig zag to avoid colliding into them. In the end, taz got the better of me...hmmm, he is a strong finisher.

When all gathered, we did a quick wash-up, and proceeded to Casuarina Rd for our roti-prata and teh-tarik cum iced-milo carbo-reloading. It was fun. I tried the mushroom-cheese prata for the first time, and I loved it. It was a great, easy, fun run for all, and we covered about 18km without feeling much soreness nor any pains. All were wearing smiles as we joked. I look forward to another of these runs to MR again; the next time, we will probably venture from the other side of the Northern Route, where we will find higher-level, steeper slopes along the SICC road. There will be even nicer scenery there too. So, anyone game for that?

View More Photos Here!

Deepavali Run Along The Esplanade/Kallang River

This is the holiday week, Deepavali today and Hari Raya on thursday. As such, trainings has been changed to mornings, and more opportunities for me to put in the necessary long runs. Did a 26km run from SAFRA MF to Kallang Indoor Stadium through The Esplanade -> Marina Promenade -> along Kallang River -> Indoor Stadium and back to The Esplanade -> Shenton Way -> Keppel Road -> MF Clubhouse.

Trainer Ong and Jaime both did not run due to injuries, but came and provided vehicle support fully loaded with 100plus and ice-cold water. Great support there. We started the run at about 7.15am, a small group of runners today, and I had Cheow12 from SgRunners join me for this run. Cheow12 in the end completed 34km, and he was happy to have covered the full distance. For the first 10km from MF ClubHouse through to Marina Promenade, I was feeling slightly heavy in my legs...hmm, coule be due to the long run at Yishun on Sunday....still did not have enough rest. Alan Chao who came back from Nairobi had a lot to share about his StanChart Marathon experience there, as well as the way the kenyans train. The conditions there was dry, with very steep hills. Alan was good enough to complete in one piece. I was chatting with Colleen along the way for the first 10km, and stayed behind a bit. Cheow had followed Jimmy Chow in front, and at The Esplanade, I did not stop for water but continued to just reach Cheow just before Marina Promenade. Ong & Jaime was there near the toilets providing 100plus. It was a refreshing drink, and I also took sips of my pre-mixed powergel.

I continued from Marina Promenade and ran along the Kallang River. I did not see anyone in front, and was quite undure of the route. After some time, I saw PA, and turned into it, cut across, and ran towards Indoor Stadium. On the way in, I saw Derek running out. I reached the Indoor Stadium but was surprised that no one was there. I made a big loop and ran out towards the PA entrance. As I was about to get out, I saw Wong and a bunch of the runners. I followed them back into the Indoor Stadium route. We waited at the Indoor Stadium for some time before Ong and Jaime showed up with 100plus, and waited even longer for the remaining runners to come in. They said that we were running too fast...hehe. Some of the runners like Jimmy Chow, Cheow, Goola and EH wanted to run further to ECP which will give them an additional 4-5km. The rest of us decided to turn back from Indoor Stadium as planned. We did a reasonable paced run back and soon found Ong again at the Marina Promenade toilet. Again we took 100plus. Ong was having a hard time driving to meet us...hehe. From there we ran ahead to The Esplanade and took a toilet break. The day was HOT, and it was draining us. We had to take lots of water along the way. My legs felt very tired, and I knew it must be due to the recent run on Sunday.

From The Esplanade, we ran along Shenton Way, and took our final 100plus with Ong along the way. From there, it was us against the elements. The weather was hot and it was draining me. I didn;t want to stop anymore, as that only tire me out faster. I ran behind Wong all the way, and with a remaining 2km back to ClubHouse, I just went alone. Back at the ClubHouse, I cooled down, waited for quite a bit for the rest of the runners who went the ECP route. Did a wash up, and later went to Kumaran's house for Deepavali Celebrations, and listening to more of Alan Chao's marathon adventure in Nairobi, Kenya. It was a day well spent, but my legs really felt dead. I decided to skip speedwork on Thur, and instead join SgRunners at MacRitchie for a slow, recovery run.

Distance Ran:26km ___Time:2hr35min____Pace:5:57min/km
Average HR:156bpm___Max HR:182bpm____KCal: 2,034