AniMILES Revisited

Heard that the AniMILES Runners were doing a 27km to the Zoo on Saturday, and went down with a few SgRunners to join them at a crazy 5am start time. I slept for about 2 hours the previous night, woke up at 2.30am, did some work on the comp till it was time to go pick DO. When we arrived to Lower Pierce Reservoir Carpark, SC5, WaterGal and Swoop were already there. Then Lieu and the rest of the fast AniMILES arrived. SgRunners Bug, Cheow12, Fennel, tktan and doraemon_red also joined us.

We started off into the not-so-cool morning at 5.10am. The stretch of meandering Old Upper Thomson Road were really not so good for the legs. I did feel a little strain on my left ankle, trying to land properly on the winding sides. We were running as a group all along OUTR onto Upper Thomson Road, before Cheow12, DO and myself went towards Seletar Resevoir for an extra 700m. I took the lead for a bit, and was surprised to see so many dogs (there must have been at least 10 of them) lurking along the road to the Reservoir. I remained calm as I ran past them, and did not get any eye contact with them...so they pretty much left our small group alone (they did bark at other groups then went past them subsequently).

We took a quick toilet stop, and away we went towards Mandai Road. I tried to maintain a steady pace, as I ran towards the zoo. My Nike Vomero provided the necessary cushion for the hard concrete along that stretch. It seemed quite long, and by the time I reached the road leading to the zoo, it was 1hr8min...then I realized my stopwatch was not set...aiya, I tried to fiddle with it a little, but could not get back the elapsed time. Into the zoo, the front group like Lieu and Bug were already coming out. Met SC5 and BostonGal making their turn, and I followed them out. Once out onto Mandai Road, I waved SC5 who stopped at his mobile water point for a drink, as I made my way for the remaining 12km home stretch. After running about 18km, I felt my legs getting heavy, and my glycogen tank running low. I did not really eat much for this run, wanting to use it to deplete any excesses.

As I approached the Crematorium area, I saw a blinking light in the distance. I got nearer and saw that it was Swoop. At the junction turning back to Seletar Reservoir, I decided to just go straight ahead. Swoop and DO followed from behind. I turned into Upper Thomson Road again, and daylight had broken. My legs felt heavy, but its quite normal for me after running for 20km+ at a 5:30min/km pace. As I got back to OUTR, I decided to walk that small slope just to give my aching ankle some reprieve. After that 50m stretch of walk, it was all the way through the winding OUTR road. I could feel my left ankle taking the strain....this stretch really not good for the legs. Finally finished the 27.5km run in 2hr32min with the group of 27km and 19km runners already resting. Took a cold refreshing drink of 100plus, thanks to Bug. I enjoyed this AniMILES run and the good company, and importantly, I have done my weekend run and will have Sunday to rest.

Distance: 27.5km__Time: 2hr32min__Pace: 5:32min/km