Le AniMILES

An AniMILE in the making?

After last Saturday's nice 24km time trial at the AniMILES run, the SgRunners animals decided to do it again this Saturday. There were actually 3 set meals from the menu this week; 8km, 18km and 30km to cater to different animals requirements. Some of us decided to start at 5.30am along with the 18km runners, but we were doing 24km. The usual cheetahs like Bug, RealRunner, DO, Cheow12 were present. We also had the panthers, squirrels, rabbits...Gentle, Brokie, fennel, etc. Nope..Polar Bear wasn't there! We had 2 new animals, IMD and Brokie's other-half Vincent... was great to have them try this nice route of the Animal Kingdom.

We started promptly at 5.30am...mainly the SgRunners group was doing this time-slot. There were a few AniMILES runners who joined in too. It didn't take too long for Bug to shoot ahead, and man, he was like a bullet! RR and IMD went ahead along with another AniMILES runner (heard he is a 3:45 marathoner...good to pace RR and IMD). I followed closely behind, trying to keep eye-contact. The pace was fast today, but I felt good enough to keep within 100m of RR and IMD. I had on my new SAFRA running top and tights. I ran with my DS Trainer, which is near retirement...but somehow it felt light, though with the lack of cushioning. I kept up the pace to see where it would take me. The morning was not as cooling as should be, and there wasn't much wind. Out from OUTR into UTR, I was still maintaining eye contact with the front pack. DO and Cheow were somewhere behind me. Because the 30km group had started much earlier, there weren't that many people for me to chase...hehe...so I just kept IMD in sight. RR was further up, and Bug was really too far in front. Turning to Mandai Rd, and then to the Crematorium area...about 9km point...checked my time, was 42min...hmm, below 5min/km pace still.

I continued on along the Reservoir flanks, running mainly on the pavement. Then I saw some runners on the return...Vivian running steady with her 30km+...we acknowledged each other. Further down, Anna.... then the French guy and his mini group... we waved as we passed. Saw a few more familiar AniMILES regulars, and they were all returning from their 30km+ run...was wondering where they had gone to...must ask them next time for details of the 30km route. With about 1km to the turning point, I saw Bug returning...waah, speeding lah. I had brought along Gatorade mix in my fuel belt, and was not planning to take my mini Snickers bar. Maybe it was because of the faster pace, I felt hungry. So I chomped on the bar *lolz*... and soon saw IMD, followed by RR just turning from the midpoint (road leading to Zoo). We thumbed-up to one another. I too turned around shortly...the light was dim.... my stopwatch showed 57min+. Just about 1min+ faster than last week. OK...quite consistent yah? I felt strong on the return, and was determined to at least maintain pace. Saw Cheow running in, followed by DO. Further down, saw Gentle, fennel and Brokie. Gave them some words of encouragement, and soon I focused on the white spot in front - IMD. He was about some 300m in front. I still could vaguely see RR. The traffic on Mandai Rd was by then very heavy, and I decided to run on the pavement, after running a stretch on the road. As I turned back into UTR, the sky was still dark...but could see that dawn was breaking. Knowing that there was about 7km left to go, I continued on, not wanting to lose concentration. As I neared OUTR again, I felt tiredness in my upper body, and knowing that there was the final upslope to tackle, I slowed down a little to revive.

I chugged along the OUTR upslope, and soon overtook the white spot in front...found that he was not IMD. Just further ahead I spotted RR. OK, then I decided to just keep RR in sight. I maintained about a 200m distance from RR along OUTR, and by the time we hit Casuarina Rd, I was about 100m behind. I checked my watch, and sensing I could do a sub 1:55, I pushed for it. Finally made it in 1hr54min+...a PB for me on this route. Yay! I did a 57min+ as well for the 2nd half, even split this time...:). Bug and IMD was already there. Bug finished in 1hr47min...way too fast for me...IMD did very well too, considering he was not familiar with the route and didn't push too hard. After downing Gatorade, I still felt hungry. I bought a HL choco milk from Shell and used that as recovery...seemed to have worked very well. I didn't feel hungry after that...hmm, must try that more often. We chatted while waiting for the rest, and soon they all came back. Vincent did very well, and I was a little worried when I heard they brought him to do 24km. He looked fresh, so I think he will do it again next time...hee. Brokie, fennel, Gentle all did more than 24km as they turned into Seletar Reservoir for a bit more...wah, 24km not enough to satisfy these animals liao...haha! Overall a very satisfying workout, and RR indicated that we should do that one more time next Saturday! Setz!

Distance Ran: 24km__Time Taken: 1hr54min__Pace: 4:46min/km