SgRunners 5th Demoralizing Run

The Happy 5th Batch Of Demoralizers

A partially-shaded park connector was recently built, and that started the planning for a 5th Demoralizing Run...along the infamously 'mental' Changi Coastal Road. It was always a challenge and good training for marathon on long stretches of flat road in hot sun...conditions found in SCSM.

A relatively large turnout of hard-core SgRunners at Changi Beach Park, Carpark No 2, as evident in the group photo, and I took quite a number of shots with my new digicam, the Lumix FX30, a no-nonsense layman camera, with some advanced features I have yet to figure out...hehe. The skies were cloudy, and the weather looked good. Brokie led the usual Demoralizing warm-up to the end of the Park, before the group took off. I was planning to do a 6min/km 32km to slowly build up the pace for my pacer role at SCSM07.

I was trotting nicely from behind the pack, with the front runners like RR, teelee, cfred, SassyRunner, Vincent, leh-lio and the rest in front. Brokie, DO, Raven (MF Ronnie) were just in front, while Cobalt, tekko, Alvo, Meteor and myself watched the rear. Highbury, Kayano, jjchsg were some of those who were being 'Demoralized' for the first time...haha. The stretch along the pavement along Coastal Road was nice, and real easy on the legs. We had some good chats and I was enjoying the greenery around the area. The pace for that stretch was about 6:20min/km, and soon the front and mid packs disappeared from me.

It was still cool after an hour of running, as we hit the NSRCC stretch. We spotted someone whom we think is a SgRunner, but no confirmation lah. xdd and tktan turned around at the NSRCC stretch, as the pack continued on towards F2 carpark and the cable ski area. Brokie indicated she would turn around slightly early for a 26km to save her legs. The rest had powered on in front. SealBoon and Raven were running alongside me after that, and I bumped into a few more familiar faces along the Sailing Club area....lots of scenery to enjoy, and I was soaking up all the eye candy....lifted my spirits, and I felt light on my feet.

Reached the cable ski area spotting RR, teelee, Vincent, leh-lio, DO on the return leg. Time check on my watch at the mid-point was 1hr41min...hmm, decided to move a little faster for the return split. Kayano, Highbury and a few others were enroute to cable ski for 32km, as we turned back. I ran alone all the way on the return leg, as SealBoon and Raven had dropped back. I maintained a 5:50min/km kinda pace throughout....was glad to be back to the shaded stretch along Coastal Road. The sun was getting HOT, and I was impressed as I saw jj taking his walk break right under the sun. Time check with about 11km to go was about 2hr.

The stretch back was rather cool, and once more spotted tigger and Fennel on their bikes, waving at me. I waved back heavily, and moved towards the Chnagi Beach target. Saw DO in the distance, and passed him with about 7km to go. Then saw Cobalt, and told him we had just 5km to go...he must have been quite happy to hear that, almost disbelievingly...haha. Based on my timing and pace, I was quite sure I would reach back by 3hr20min. Didn't feel much tiredness in the legs until the 30km mark...well, just moved on as I wanted to be back to take some photos for those running back.

Out from the shaded beach stretch, the sun was beating strongly on my unprotected shoulders and face. I remained cool, and just continued on, imagining that I have another 10km to go...hmm. Finally could see the colorful group, and was happy to be rewarded with Brokie's Barley and xdd's jello. I took 3hr15min to finish the 32km+...about 6min/km pace lah. Whipped out my camera, and some bananas, and was back to the gathering point to grab photos for the runner returning....DO, Cobalt, Raven, SealBoon, kayano, jj all looked ecstatic to be back...all completed by 11am, which was the cut-off point as set by RSM. A happy bunch, all rewarded with barley, jello, 100plus and bananas...well done, all survived the Demoralizing Run, yet again!

Distance: 32km__Time: 3hr15min__Pace: 6:06min/km

Photo Slideshow

Photo Slideshow from Brokie's Cam

Mid-Autumn Intervals

It was the Mookcake Festival on Tuesday, and turnout for what would be yet another fast and furious session was small, about 20+. With all the mooncakes we have been feasting, it was a necessary workout for Bev and myself. A slog jog to the Queenstown Stadium to get warmed up, before Jimmy Chow asked us to do 5 interval sets of 1,200m (3 laps)...and he rightly pointed out the correct way to do interval training...not all out running, but more of a steady, targeted pace.

I joined the first group of 5:30min runners who were aiming to do all 5 sets of 1.2km within that time....should work out to a sub-5min/km pace. I took the first set as warm-up, and progressively ran a little harder. Finished all 5 sets with 3min break in 5:28, 5:16, 5:08, 5:03, 5:07. Didn't feel so tired since I did not push too hard...leaving some energy for the 4km slow-jog back to ClubHouse.

Since it was mid-Autumn festival, cm's wife made some very nice mooncakes (green-tea, black sesame and shanghai types) for us to sample. The moon shone brightly in good company. I liked the snow-skin with black sesame paste best...not too sweet, and refreshing. Hoped the run was sufficient was burn up any remaining traces of the mooncakes consumed during this period...at least Bev was conviced she burned up at least 3/4 of it...hehe

Rainy Sunday...

Supposed to do a 25.5km Sunday Run, but ended up doing about 22km instead. It was quite a while back since I ran along the 99 winding road stretch through the slopes in NUS and back. It was a cloudy morning, and by the time I came back out from NUS, I was pretty tired...hmm, still not quite conditioned for the long runs just yet. On the way out, met Jimmy Chow who shouted for us to do 2 more laps of Kent Ridge Park.

By the 2nd time around the Kent Ridge Loop, it was drizzling. I was hoping to finish it off before the rains came....Alas, when we went up the final time, it poured heavily. Lai Chee was in front of me, and we were just drenched. I took shelter at the toilet area for a while, before running back with ZW. I decided to cut short the run as the quality of the run was dropping due to the wet shoes and irritating rainfall on my head and face. Went back to ClubHouse, did a quick stretch and washup, before going to Ah Kun with DO for nice coffee.

We could see all the determined runners braving the run, and doing the full works...really respect their grit, especially the new runners to the Club...we really have very good newbies joining the Club this season...impressive. After much chatter with DO, Bug and Derrick anout our Chiangmai trip in December, I left early for home to have lunch. The run today really brought on the elements of sun and rain...well, take that as conditioning then :)

Distance: 22km__Time: 2hr5min__Pace: 5:41min/km

The Monkey Queen

Highlight Of The Evening

It was my first time doing a night run at MacRitchie and what more in the trails. Due to a good turn of events, I was early at MR instead of having to miss the run. I took the 30min waiting time to do a jog into the Lornie Trails, and exiting via Lornie Road. When I came back at about 7.25pm, Brokie, Vincent, Cokiee, Cobalt, Jason and Ray were already gathered. Soon Ripley came running in, dripping wet from her longish run via BG.

I was expecting the Mid-Autumn (MoonCake) Festival run to be a stroll by the light of the silvery moon....too dark to actually run in the trails. With the torches, it became a pleasant paced run...I was covering the rear with Cobalt, with Brokie and Cokiee leading the way. Up and down the Northern Route, it was rocky at times but the grounds were dry and easy on the feet...we chatted and sometimes sang, did regular headcounts to ensure there were just only 8 of us, no extras running along. Cobalt was sharing about the runner who died on that same trails just last week...so I had to be more vigilant about extra bodies around lah...

We exited Northern Route in 26min...wow, real smooth and quite fast for a night run...we then went on to the Ranger Station for a drink, before doing a detour round the Tree Top area to the Sime Trails...good thing the few of us were quite familiar with that part of MR. After a short while (yes, the route seems so much easier and shorter in the dark), we reached Jelutong Tower and went up for the nice night view. While up the Tower, we could sense that swaying of the Tower...a feeling I have not had in the daytime when I was up. We managed to take some good photo shots with Brokie's phone-cam, and proceeded onto the wooden walkway, into the open area around the Golf Course. The moonlit night allowed us to run quite smooth, all the way to Lornie Road. As we were running late, we went quickly along Lornie Road back to the start point at 9.30pm.

I did a quick wash up, before proceeding with Ray and Jason to pick Bev for what was to be a fun outing to the 3 monkeys Cafe. Met up with Brokie, Vincent, Cokiee and Ripley there. The place was not known for its food, but rather for the live entertainment by Kumar, the drag queen. We had 90min of almost non-stop laughter, with the Queen teasing the audience, some smooth dancing, and lots of hilarious jokes and jibes. By the time we left the cafe, it was 1.30am, and the whole place was crawling with happening babes and ang-mohs. It was real good fun, at very reasonable prices...I would recommend the show... With just 4hours of sleep into the morning, I woke up 'stoned' but felt it was a great evening of running and entertainment for me and my friends....certainly time very well spent :)

Power of the hills...

It was hills training on Tuesday....4.5laps of the 1.6km MF hills, followed by 2 flights of 200-step stairs. As usual, a large turnout, with many of the new eager beavers raring to take up the challenge. The new runners have a rather good running base, and have been improving by leaps and bounds with each training....amazing.

A short warm-up jog from ClubHouse to the MF Loop carpark. To avoid congestion, the gals went ahead first, followed by the guys 3min later. I ran on the inside path to avoid the oncoming traffic down the busy MF slopes....though it was slightly longer, it was also more gradual at certain sections. I didn't feel too tired about 3 8min+ laps. Finished 4laps, and waited for Bev to go for the 1/2 lap. on the way up, I could see the power of the new gal runners, as they went up 5 times without too much trouble...wow...I recalled that I really sweat when I first did 2 laps of that MF loop...

Bev and I did 1 set of stairs and called it a night....back to ClubHouse for a good stretching session....lots of discussions this evening about our ChiangMai trip and marathon at the end of December...Eugene, Bug, DO were all making plans to do a tour package instead, with lots of sights, food and shopping. With the Chinag Mai Marathon plans laid, DO and I started to 'jio' people for the Pacesetters GE 30km in Jan08...seemed like there will be a large crowd from MF again for this run...should be fun again!

Looking back at the hills training, we recall a recent article shared by PS from Runner's World about the merits of hills and how to do hills training the proper way...excerpts from that Runner's World article...

Copyright © 2006 Rodale Inc. All rights reserved.

Hill Running Proper Form For Peak Performance

The hills in a cross-country race can make or break a runner. Tackling a steep hill when you're tired is a formidable challenge, and your success will depend as much on proper running form as on the strength you've built up from training. Check out the posture-the position of the arms, shoulders, head, legs and torso-of these runners from Colts Neck High School in New Jersey, demonstrated on the state cross-country course at hilly Holmdel Park. Colts Neck coach Jim Schlentz, building an outstanding young squad, concentrates on teaching the athletes proper form. Make sure you work on good form in daily practice. If you have bad habits in practice, you'll carry them into the race. Knee Lift Shorten your stride and swing your arms back so your elbows come up high. Arm action has a lot to do with running form, and by moving your arms well back, your legs will move faster, and knees higher, on the hill. Arm Action Move your arms up and back, not side to side, helping to keep your center of gravity in front of you. Your arms should form a 90-degree angle at the elbow. Keep your hands loose, no fists. Body Position Keep your back straight and erect, with a slight forward lean. Lean in from the hips and don't let your torso droop. Relax your shoulders, no hunching. Head Position Keep your gaze straight ahead. No looking up or down or you'll tighten your neck and shoulders, hampering your breathing and stride. Look at the ground just ahead of you-not the top of the hill. Reaching the Peak As you reach the top of the hill, prepare to resume your normal stride pattern and, instead of resting, attack the course while your opposition may be easing up. If your form is correct on the hill, you should have plenty of energy to surge coming up and over the peak. Running Downhill Lengthen your stride, lower your knees, keep your hips under you and shoulders slightly in front of you. Let your weight pull you forward. Don't lean back in a braking movement; that will only slow you down. Back to article

Copyright © 2006 Rodale Inc. All rights reserved.

Want To Run Fast? Run Uphill Just 10 seconds can make you stronger and faster--you only have to run uphill, fast. By Marc Bloom

Ten seconds. That's all the time it takes to become a faster runner. Too good to be true? Not according to Brad Hudson, the coach of such distance stars as Dathan Ritzenhein and Jorge Torres. All you have to do is run those 10 seconds uphill--as fast as you can. "There's nothing better for developing speed and muscle power," says Hudson. When Hudson, a 1991 and '93 world championship competitor in the marathon, started coaching a few years back, he looked at successful programs and found they all had one thing in common: hills. And as he sifted through research, he noted that even a small amount of hill work could yield big results: a jump in leg strength, running economy--how efficiently your body uses oxygen--and aerobic capacity. "I saw the science, and then I saw the results in my athletes," says Hudson. One of those athletes, James Carney, improved his 10-K personal best last spring to 27:43 after incorporating Hudson's hill training into his routine. Torres credits hill work for putting him in contention for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team for the 10,000 meters. And Ritzenhein, who ran 2:14:01 last year in his debut marathon, believes hills have made him less injury-prone. Of course, Hudson's athletes are professional runners, so short sprints are only part of their hill routine But for the rest of us, 10-second hill repeats are the most efficient way to build year-round strength and speed. Uphill Gains Hit the hill, but make it fast and short, and you get the maximum amount of training effect with the minimum amount of injury risk. "The best way to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers is to run at max intensity," says Hudson. "The best way to build leg strength is hill running. So we run all-out up a steep hill. But we keep it to 10 seconds to avoid producing lactate and becoming fatigued." Running no more than 10-second repeats also reduces injury risk by limiting your fast-running time. And hills by their nature lessen the risk of injury because the slope shortens the distance you have to "fall" or land, reducing impact. "Studies of sprinting uphill show that the muscles are in constant 'overload' and the nervous system is firing hard," says Hudson. "It's the same speed benefit as track sprints, but safer." The fast pace builds speed, but it's the hill that provides the strength benefit. Running up an incline places the same demand on your muscles as weight training--your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves must "lift" you up the slope--but they're more specific to running. And just as with plyometrics (jump drills), the "explosive" action of uphill sprints improves elasticity in your muscles and tendons, which allows you to spring quickly into action after landing. Hills Year-Round To develop leg strength throughout the year, Hudson's runners do short sprints on a hill that is between a six to 10 percent grade. They tack these surges onto the end of two easy runs a week. At the start of the season, they'll log just two 10-second repeats. The next week they'll do three. Once they reach eight, they cut back to doing them once a week. The first repeat is done at a fast pace, the rest at top speed. Each repeat is followed by at least two minutes of recovery, which includes walking downhill backward to keep pressure off the knees. "They're not easy to do," says Hudson. "But the pain's gone in a second or two." And you're left with stronger, faster legs.

Confirmation for Chiang Mai

Received this in the email today:

Dear, Anthony Sum

We are confirm your register to run Chiang Mai Marathon 2007
Full Marathon, Male
Entry Fee $25 USD
Please pay cash money on 29 Dec 2007 at the Start & Finish

Thank you,
Sayun Somdulyawat
Chiang Mai Marathon 2007

All my travel plans are made, and I am ready to GO :)

Yet another LaKsa RuN...the Katong type

The Merry Recalcitrants

The plan was to join in the SCSM Pacer training, and with the promise of Katong Laksa after the 26km run, many SgRunners and SAFRA Runners showed up. We reached the meeting point (inline skating ring next to MacDonalds) at East Coast Parkway (ECP) 6.25am....nope, Pacers not there yet...I showed DO around, and soon met IMD, Yee Hua, Fennel and littleant. Then the group of Cheow12, Bug, Alvo, Meteor, trencen showed up. RealRunner and MF Ronnie came too. Lai Chee was spotted running as I called out to her...6pecs kk walked up to introduce himself...then we saw Aichai and Kok Sin walking towards us...Aichai mentioned that David Tay (SCSM Pacer lead) could not make it, and we would do our own group run of about 26km...from MacD to NSRCC and back for the first 16km, then MacD to Canoe Centre and back for another 10km.

I did a last scan for Highbury and others, before meeting up with DO, Lai Chee and Bug to catch up with the rest in front. Met littleant for the first time and chatted with her about the nice running routes at MF and ECP, and her plans to do her first full marathon at SCSM. Met spiffy, SC5, watergal, Vivian Tang doing their ninjas. IMD, Yee Hua and Fennel were running at quite a fast pace...we caught up with them at the Canoe Centre, and proceeded all the way to NSRCC...with the 42min we took, IMD and I reckoned we covered 8km up to that point. Bumped into Kayano at F2 and high-fived...guess I will collect the powergels from him another time :). Soon aichai, Caroline and Kok Sin came along...we chatted about the Pacer plans, and how the runners can benefit from the Pacer training. By that time RR, Bug, trencen, Danny, kk, Cheow12 and the faster runners were already way in front.

On the way back, I spotted more familiar faces as I moved ahead to complete the first part of the route quickly. Jamessoh was seen running strong...told him to RV at MacD later. Though the weather was cool, my throat was quite dry. Lai Chee and DO were running alongside. Saw Highbury, Dasher and then Ripley coming up...good, they were late, but at least they came for the lasksa...haha. That stretch back was pretty mental, and I reached back to MacD in 1hr25min...decided to wait for everyone to be back to go for another lap. The remaining lap of about 10km was taken at a 'babe-watch, sight-seeing' pace, and all ran together as a group and chit-chatted all the way. Spotted a familiar animiles runner, then astrogal...its been a long time, then Cosmic, then WeiShan....always nice to meet friends and familiar faces running. After some plodding, we reached the Canoe Centre for a second time, and took a final water stop. littleant and Yee Hua were glad we had covered 21km up to that point...anything after that was extra 'buildup' mileage.

With 5km back, the rest got ahead, and I ran with aichai and Caroline for half the stretch at about 6min/km pace. Both of them have good form, but were taking walks along water stops as part of training. Aichai shared with us a lot more about the SCSM Pacers and their training, and what to expect in the upcoming training runs. With about 1km to MacD, the sky was dark, and light showers came. I saw that the group were in the shelter, and ran straight for them...phew! made it before the raindrops got bigger. DO handed me a cup of 100plus...wow, refreshing... thanks. A big crowd of SgRunners had gathered by then...Kok Sin remarked that this was a large group...we joked that aichai should have taken a group photo and show to David Tay the number of potential pacers he might recruit...haha. Aichai calculated that we did 26km, and all were pretty happy with the distance and time covered.

The highlight - 328 Katong Laksa & Otah-Otah

Then it was time for the highlight of the day...we decided to stick with Katong Laksa. Some had to leave for early appointments...the remaining group of about 10 of us went for a nice wash-up at the upgraded shower facilities at ECP toilets, before driving our way to 328 Katong Laksa. Bug, DO, littleant, Cheow12, Fennel, Ronnie and myself each had a bowl of yummilicious laksa with lots of taugay, and a slab of otah-otah. Dasher, Highbury, cfred and Ripley went separately to another branch of 328 along the same road. We later gathered up to have more drinks and running talk...really shiok. This is the 3rd type of laksa we have had for runs already, as we explained to newcomers littleant and Dasher...there's Claypot Laksa at Alexandra Village, Curry Laksa at Kovan Heartland Mall and then the famous Katong Laksa at Katong, of course. A well deserved laksa meal for a good workout with great company...well, its no wonder that Ronnie asked us to include him for more of such future runs :)

Queenstown

It was good weather on Thurs evening, as we gathered for yet another track interval training. I had only 4 hours of sleep the previous night, and was feeling the effects in the day, lethargic...was hoping the run ould give me a jolt and boost...hehe. Quite a large group, though not as many as Tue's. Did a 4km jog from Clubhouse to Queenstown Stadium, and chatted with Thomas along the way about pacing and not starting out too fast for his upcoming marathon in December....Tom is yet another new runner that has shown marked improvement in distance running.

We were to do 4 sets of 1.2km, and trainer Ong grouped us into 2, using 5min as the gauge. I joined the smaller 5min group and started off first. I was near the tail end of the group, but was adamant to maintain a constant pace for the 3 laps of 400m at 1:40 per lap. Did the first lap in 1:45, then finished off the set in 5:09....not fast, but good enough as a warm up. The second group was flagged off and Bev did about 6:15. There were some other runners who went on their own tempo runs outside the stadium.

I finished 2 more laps in 4:58 and 4:56. Sat out the 4th lap as I had enough of a workout for the evening. Ran back to Clubhouse with Bev, and she kept up a good pace. Lai Chee was running nearby, and she too was in recovery pace after yet another prize-winning run in Malaysia last week. Had a quick, but effective stretching session by Julie, before going down to ABC market for some nice eats. Ronnie, Lai Chee, Thomas enquired about this Saturday's Pacing Group training...there should be a small crowd for the run....I hope the weather holds :)

4km (ClubHouse - QST Stadium)
Set 1 (1.2km) - 5:09min
Set 2 (1.2km) - 4:58min
Set 3 (1.2km) - 4:56min
4m (QST Stadium - ClubHouse)

SAFRA Mt. Faber Running Club

Its been a few months since I came up to Telok Blangah Hills (TBH). Tue evening saw a large turnout of about 50 at MF. Bev was there too, along with WK (her colleague), the German couple, the new gals, many more new runners. All were looking to try out the legendary 1km hill reps on top of Telok Blangah hills.

We took a 1km slow jog to the carpark on top of TBH. Trainers Ong and Jimmy gave a brief about runners doing their own pace, with those who were more experienced doing a 5min lap as guide. It was reported that just 2 days back, another runner died while running along MacRitchie. All were advised to bodysense and stop when necessary.

In Bev's words, we were like a bunch of animals, running at varying paces, especially when the deers, horses and cheetahs just come leaping, galloping and zooming past us from behind....haha. I finished the first lap in 4:12min. The newcomers took a reserved stance as they tested the route. Soon everyone got into their paces...I did the rest of the laps in an average of 4:13, within the 4:30 I set for myself. As always, Ronnie and Trevor were always overtaking me at the tail end, with the occasional Wong and Thomas running alongside. Peter was also doing very well, maintaining quite good pacing. The new gals were powerful too...all with good potential, and will do well if they keep up the training at MF. Julie was a spped monster up the slopes, and she is really the most improved rookie at MF for 2007. Bev and WK did well to do all the remaining 4 laps within 5min. With the cheers and encouragement, all throroughly enjoyed the short, but furious session.

All gathered and took a cool-down walk down the slope of TBH, chatting and discussing about upcoming training sessions. The atmosphere was really nice, and I believed all the new runners enjoyed the team spirit and the relaxed atmosphere. We settled down to a nice stretching session by Julie, took 100plus drinks, while 18 handpicked regular runners received their nice adidas shirt, sponsored by Alan Chao, with the support of cm and the committee. Many of recepients were new runners, but they were dedicated and regular at trainings, and has shown marked improvements. The adidas tops were uniquely designed, with each person getting a different design and colour...and of course, I too got one of those adidas shirts lah...nice :).

All the runners get their reward of a 100plus drink, contributed by those who have kindly re-contributed their fee rebates of major Singapore races to a common 'drinks fund'...thats the kind of generous, caring and sharing atmosphere at SAFRA MF Running that have me staying with the Club for about 3 years, joining in most of the training sessions, and recommending many friends to the training and social runs.

Babe Run

Babes before Shape

Its the second Shape Run...the guys don't get it...yes, its only for the gals, the babes...thats why I refer to it as the Babe Run :). I was there this morning to support Beverly who is attempting to break the 1hour mark for 10km, as well as to cheer the SgRunners running babes.. Bev was not really prepared for this run, but based on her recent AHM timing, I calculated she could do between 55min-58min for a 10km.

As I parked my car at Marina Square around 6.30am, Brokie drove up alongside with her friend and Ripley. Along the way to The Esplanade, we were joined by Meteor and Alvo, and then met a group of the SgRunners at around the Food Street area for some nice photo shots. Ronnie, Bee, cfred, ST, SassyRunner, Atomic & family were also there. The gals then proceeded to the start line for the warm-up session...a record 6,000 participants this year, many decked in the smart Nike orange running top.

I proceeded to position myself about 1km ahead of the start point, and along the way, saw Bug, Cheow12, tktan, aerosolcan, tekko, Teck Heng and a few other photographers laying in wait. Then it started, and I could see the very fast Australian runner, followed by Vivian Tang, and the front bunch emerged. I started my stop watch at the same time. leh-lio called out, then stazla, then Jancy...wow...very fast second group. I was looking out for Bev in light blue top, and after a short while, spotted her. I ran alongside her on the inner pavement to get some photo shots. There was a guy running along too, waiting for his wife to emerge.

Bev hit the 3km mark in about 16.5min...good that she had banked in some minutes. She saw me running along, and I tried to keep a steady pace. There were times where I ran forward to take photo shots as she came around, and occasionally I had to do detours to avoid running tooo close to the participants. Into the Marina South Park area, and I positioned myself at a bus-stop to wait for them to U-turn. Spotted many familiar faces...Anna, stazla, Jancy, doraemon_red were the first bunch I saw....clapped for them and took some photo shots of them before waving them off...all looking very good...then came one Animiles runner (cannot recall her name), spotted Shirley from MF, then Ms. Tekko...wow, she has improved so much...then Bev came. Ronnie, Bug then came running in, and i showed them the strategic spot to take, as I went out with Bev.

By the 6km mark, it was 33min...I urged Bev to keep up the pace...she took a quick drink, a deep breath, and off she went along...at the 7km, it was 38min+...she was averaging a steady 5:35min/km pace...very good. I continued to urged her on, and by the 8km she appeared to be wanting to slow down. With 2km to go, time check was 43min+...I was sure she will make sub-1hr by then, I then signalled that I will wait at the end point. I ran up to tekko at about the 9km mark, and asked him to take a photo for Bev. Tekko mentioned his MHA had just passed...wow! By then, the 5km runners, or rather walkers, were making it very difficult for the 10km runners to 'chiong' as they were blocking the way. With 500m to go, I asked Bev to go all the way, and she crossed the finish in 56min+...very well done...a new PB and way below the sub 1hr mark for 10km.

We went to collect the goodie bag, before meeting up with the SgRunners at the Food Street area after. Roentgen and his sis, Loon were there. Eliza, Bubbles, crudestar, lilyelf, ST among those babes that were smiling about the race. Shutehelup and gf were there too, and Gentle and Mrs. Gentle were spotted walking across as well. Lots of chatter about the race, the nice weather, the lack of isotonic drinks, the nice running top, the not-too-good goodie bag, and other running related topics transpired. It was nice to finally meet Monica, Brokie's other running sibling.....and that completes the running sis trio...hehe.

Post-race satisfaction & smiles

I took lots of ramdom shots with Brokie's cam (since mine was already flat and quite old liao...I realized that someone fiddled with the settings, and all the photos turned out very blur...haiz) of the SgRunners running babes mingling....of course lots more were not present at the meeting place this year, but many new ones came as well....finally more group photos before we went to Marina Square foodcourt for more chit-chat and makan....Angeline, Roonz appeared as well. All the gals did well...Sassy 48min, Philip's prodigy 49min, leh-lio in 50min, stazla in 50min, Brokie 52min, Mrs. Tekko 55min, Mrs. Atomic 55min, Bev 56min, Meteor 57min, Eliza 62min.

More 'happening' photos from Brokie's Cam, Roentgen's Cam, Tekko's cam
Tekko's 10km Start Video

Heavy rain in the morning...

Went down to East Coast Parkway at 6.30am for my first SCSM07 Pacer training. Met up with David Tay and the group. Because of the threatening sky, the training session was called off...as I was walking back to my car, it started to pour...fortunate that I could get in before the rain caught me....it was heavy, rain everywhere islandwide. As I drove past BG to check things out, the rain there was very heavy, and I suspected that the run there would be cancelled too.

Went back home, disappointed, but glad that I did not get caught in the rain. This was the first time ever I did not run because of rain...wow! I did manage to catch up on some sleep, and in the afternoon, went out for a run in the very cool and dry weather. On top of doing the usual 10km loop, I decided to visit the old abandoned Christian cemetary for 3 laps of 2km each. That place is normally full of Ghurka runners in the evenings.

One of the pacer members in the morning mentioned he saw a report about my run at this cemetary in my blog, and it sortta reminded me to try this again today....nice visit. It was me and 2 other runners occupying the whole place today, not a single Ghurka in sight....I averaged about 9min for each of the 2km lap. Ran back hope along Braddel Road for a total 16km in 1hr30min...I was glad to have gotten some weekend mileage in....I will be supporting Bev and the SgRunners gals at the Shape Run tomorrow, and looking forward to good, dry weather :)

marathon training begins...

After a week of rest from the AHM, this week saw the kick-start of the MF marathon training for SCSM07. There were quite a number of new runners that joined Tuesday's MF Hill repeats. There was even a German couple who were good ultra-marathoners, enjoying the new experience of hills in Singapore...hehe. We did a 2km jog to the MF Loop carpark, where about 40 runners were assembled, before being despatched in two groups (the ladies went first) for 5 sets of the 1.6km MF Loop. The weather was cool, and I didn't have a drop to drink for the whole of the 5 sets. Most of the new runners were fast, including the ladies, and all did well to complete the 5 sets. I completed in 44min, about 8min+ per set....not fast, but sufficient as a workout.

Did another 5 sets of slope training Thursday evening at Labrador Park. Another good turnout, and lots of speed monsters too. I was feeling a little worn out, and was taking care to avoid catching the bout of flu virus going around. Even some of the runners were heard coughing. We jogged to Labrador Park from the Clubhouse, and from there, we were flagged off to do 5 loops of the 1.2km circuit. I ran at a pretty constant 8min+ per set for the whole 5 sets, and mostly ran behind Yuen, who did a very steady pace. Thomas and Sok Hwa were solid too, pacing me for the first 3 rounds. The new gals that just joined were doing great, completing the 5 sets effortlessly. I completed the sets in 40min, and then ran another 2km back to the Clubhouse together with the rest.

The start of the Marathon training has been tough, with 5 on 5 slope repeats already....my legs were feeling tired already, but I am loving it....just hope that I can go on for the 24km pacer training at ECP this Saturday :)

The Shag Look

Official Results and Photos of AHM2007

MR25 Progressive Run done...30km

The Reward for a 30km hard workout. Laksa Run anyone?

I missed the 25km Progressive Run in July as I was away for the Ipoh Half Marathon. This year's MR25 progressive runs at MacRitchie is made more interesting with a mini competition... each runner has to run at least 4 out of the 5 progressive runs to score points and get a running top. The top few points scorers will receive additional prizes befitting the effort of the winners.

Since I have to go for all the remaining progressive runs, I was at MR this morning to join in the 30km Progressive Run. I was looking to it as my LSD build-up for SCSM07, and also to burn off some fats (if that is at all possible for me...hehe). The usual guys were there...Alvo, Ultraman, DO, Bug, Goola, the 2 Ronnies and many other MR25 runners...Derrick, Jimmy Chow and Eng Hwa joined in the fun too. Noticed that MR25 has got new number tags for this season of races and time trials...cool!

Because of the mini landslide at the Ranger area, the route this year was slightly modified to run from Northern Route and then to UPR, covering air-cond road twice, then going into Rifle Range Road, before going back the same way to Nothern Route. The weather was pretty cool after some light showers, and it was nice that the trails weren't too muddy (despite the few days of heavy rain before). The pace was rather easy, and I was happy to just tag along the bunch of JJ, Lai Chee and DO. Went into the air-cond road, running alongside Ronnie from MF, and reached the OUTR gate in about 54min.

Saw the usual familiar faces, and giving them a thumbs up as we ran past one another. A few notable faces were absent as there was the Aviva 70.3 Half Ironman race today as well. Reached the air-cond road a second time, and was feeling quite good. I was reserving my energy for the many slopes along the Rifle Range stretch. The Rifle Range trails were rather muddy, and I was rather careful, especially on the downslopes. I spotted Lai Chee in front, and told her to be careful as I moved on to the road portion. The slopes there are always a challenge for me, and I resolved to take it easy today. Reached the U-turn point in 1:54...ok, pace about right for a sub 3hr finish.

The way back felt quite ok, especially with the cool weather, and it was only along the Rifle Range trails that I felt the tiredness as I climbed the final slopes. I was glad to take lots of 100plus at the final water point, before heading up the slopes to the Northern Route. I could feel the 'lack of cushion' and 'slapping' from my well-worn Nike Vomero (already 500km+). Since I didn't want to dirty my new cushioned PI shoes, I had to use the Vomero for this trail run. It turned out to be quite alright, not too 'muddy' nor soggy. I went back along Northern Route with caution, and finished the 30km run in 2hr51min. It was a tad slower than last year's 2hr49min....still, I was rather satisfied with the workout.

Bug improved by a lot, so has Alvo. The rest of the runners did well too, considering that they took this run as a warm-up to kickstart training for the year end marathon. I did a very steady pace, and although I could feel a slight 'tightness' in the calves for the last 2km, I attribute that to the lack of conditioning for distances over 28km. With the good workout, we rewarded ourselves with very 'sinful' laksa at Kovan Heartland Mall, thanks to DO for the treat. My bowl was completely cleaned out, while Bug and DO still had some gravy....Bug was still very careful with taking all the gravy....thats why he can eat laksa and still not sin so badly as us...haha.

Distance: 30km XC__Time: 2hr49min__Pace: 5:38min/km