2nd Animiles Run: 24km of Running High

I joined the Animiles group for their 5.30am Saturday run from Lower Pierce Reservoir. I did this run on April Fool's Day and enjoyed it thoroughly, and decided to do it again since my Sunday run at MF was cancelled. There was a relatively smaller group this morning, since a number of the Animiles members just came back from their respective marathons, and the triatheletes in the group are preparing for a long biking training on Sunday. Divey, Brokie, DO, bbmon and myself were the SgRunners reps who who went for this run. bbmon took a taxi all the way from Jurong West to the location...I'm impressed by her dedication. SC5 and Watergal were the first to arrive.

I had on my newly purchased Ultimax Ironman socks bought from RL on the advise of Divey. Also put on my AdiZero SN for another go. We started off promptly at 5.30am, and as usual, the Animiles runners shot ahead. Brokie and DO went ahead as well. I ran part of the start with Divey, before moving ahead and leaving her with 2 gals who were running her pace. Chatted a bit with bbmon along OUTR about her MF ninja trainings as well as the upcoming PaceSetters 15km run. This gal has potential and will surely do very well in the years to come; an unpolished diamond that just requires a bit of time to nurture. As I ran into Thomson Road from OUTR, I could smell the fresh morning air...hmm, so refreshing. I was warmed up sufficiently to move ahead to meet with Brokie and DO who were haveing a nice time chatting. I drafted off the 2 for a while...hehe...before moving ahead as we came to the turn into Mandai Road. There weren't many cyclists yet, but the cars were moving quite fast. I ran a bit on the road shoulder, before moving in onto the harder concrete surface. I was running alone then, and was enjoying the morning sounds and sights.

A bit further ahead, some of the early runners were running back. They were doing about 18km, and told me that the turn was right ahead at lampost LP65 near the crematorium. I acknowledged them and proceeded on. My plan was to run 24km, which meant turning back only when I reached the road entrance into Mandai zoo. Soon, I was running alone again, and there were no further Animiles runners in front. I came to the first opening to the revservoir view, and then the second. I ate my mini Snickers bar at that point, slowly muching away...hehe. Soon I saw a car with flashing lights at the bus-stop in front...gotta be watergirl, SC5's private water point...haha. Watergirl was kind enough to ask if I wanted a drink, but I didn't need it and said thanks. I finished my first mini flask of water from my fuel belt as I hit the mid point (road entrance to the zoo). The time showed I ran 1hr01min...hmm, I figured I would have to run a reverse split to finish the 24km below 2hrs. Could I do it? I wanted to try. I felt comfortable in my new Ironman socks, which really felt so snug and cooling, dissipating the heat. My AdiZero was feeling so light and comfy...I felt I could continue to run much longer at that 5min/km pace.

I increased the pace a little, as I ran on strongly on the reverse way. About 500m upfront, I saw a Animiles runner coming, and he was to be the only other person that did 24km. DO, Brokie, bbmon were all doing 22km, and probably would have turned back at the point where I saw watergirl earlier. I continued on, and soon I saw SC5 taking a rest at Watregirl's water point. I gestured to him that there was one more guy behind, before running on. As I ran past the second reservoir opening, I was just wondering when I would see Brokie, DO, bbmon & Divey. At about the first reservoir opening, I finally saw Brokie & DO...hmm, good, finally I have some target to move towards...hehe. I continued my constant pace, and soon caught up to the 2 who were having a leisurely run and chat. Not wanting to disturb the conversation, and because I was targeting to run sub-2hr this morning, I ran ahead of them. Finally reached the turn back Upper Thomson Road. Ran on this long stretch for a bit, avoiding the heavy buses and lorries whenever they came near the road shoulder. I was meandering around quite a bit...not too nice, this stretch. Finally came close to OUTR, and I spotted bbmon climbing up the initial slopes. I tailgated her for about 2km, before finally closing on her. She seemed to have slowed down, as she was not familiar with the road back. There were also many groups of cyclists coming down at fast speeds along OUTR which we had to be careful about. I tried to take the shorter bends of the road whenever possible. I ran up to bbmon, and told her that we were close to the finish. I pushed on faster as I checked I had about 10min left to 2hrs. bbmon picked up her speed and ran just slightly behind. As I turned into Lower Pierce Reservoir off Causuarina Road, I had 6min left. I kept on my constant pace, and with about a few hundred metres to go, bbmon sped up and we both finished together (aiya...forgot to hold her hands to finish...hahaha). I stopped my watch at 1hr59min running time....yippee, a sub-2hr for me on this 24km route....something I wanted to do since the April Fool Run. Divey was at the finish much earlier, and she cheered us on. She too enjoyed her run very much. DO and Brokie came back shortly to applause by the few of us, and they too did well, especially Brokie who ran much longer taking the same amount of time as she did during the April Fool Run.

We all chatted and did some cooling down stretches. I was telling Brokie and DO to get the Ironman socks as there were really value for money. I really think the socks helped me get rid of the heat which normally builds up if I run at about a 5min/km pace and below. My AdiZero was another plus factor...made my feet feel light, and even when I ran close to Brokie, DO and bbmon, they could hardly hear me...hahaha. As I was wearing my shoes, I saw DO, Divey and bbmon coming from the main road. Apparently some cleaning lady actually made off with Divey's running top... must be too sexy chopchop for her to resist...haha....maybe the thief intended to auction it off at eBay, without washing of course...hahaha. Good thing Mr. DO saved the day and helped retrieve back the top for Divey...she was so relieved. We went to the usual Food Centre, and saw Vivian Tang, Anna and the other Animiles all gathered for breakfast. We congratulated Vivian and Anna for their fine performance at the Nagano Marathon. Anna said she enjoyed the course, and though the weather was a tad chilly, she actually did a very good time close to her PB. Sc5 also gave us some insights into triathlon training, how to choose bikes, as well as how to 'free' and 'breast' forever...hehe. I enjoyed the run and the company. I look forward to doing this again soon, maybe in May.


Distance Ran: 24km ____Time:1hr59min_____Pace:4:58min/km
Average HR:N/A____Max HR:N/A____KCal:1,800KCal est.