Rainy Saturday, Immaculate Sunday

Thought I should go down to East Coast Parkway for the Pacesetters training on Saturday...intended to do28km, but hopes were dashed by the early morning rain which started from 3am. xdd, tktan, DO, Bev and myself went down to ECP at 6.30am...collected my new MR25 running attire from DO (thanks to Vincent for a free cap thrown in)....fits well. We sat at MacD and chit-chatted till 7:15am before deciding to drive off to Kovan for makan.

I later did a 18km slow run from my house along the Upper Serangoon/Sengang Road/Ponggol Road route....it has been some time since I ran along there....Despite the irritating series of traffic junctions along the Upper Serangoon Road stretch, the run was pretty smooth and comfy....I enjoyed the solitary run. Will do the MF run with Bev on Sunday to add on additional mileage, as well as for Bev to put in her training requirements for the week...hehe. SCSM07 is nigh, andour mileage are still low by any standards....but its ok, since I will be enjoying my Pacer role this year :)


It was a different story on Sunday, where many of us turned up to make up for our missed Saturday run. The weather forecast was for rain, and against all odds (or was it because of the guest apperance of Ultraman?), the weather turned out to be good, even bothering on being HOT at one stage. Brokie, Vincent, Beverly were already prepared to run together at about 5:45min/km pace. DO, Ultra and I were more than happy to pace them for as long as they would go.

I went with Bev all the way for a 23km distance, skipping the additional 5km of MF Hills. The NUS Slopes and the heat got the better of Bev and a few others, and when we emerged from NUH, she wanted to 'hitch a ride'...haha. Heng was sitting on the ground taking a breather....I guess they had taken a hit from the 'wall'....the slopes had sapped their energy, and I advised Bev to take her Powergel once we hit Kent Ridge Park. With a second wind, she was able to run along with Ong, Shirley and myself all the way to Telok Blangah, before feeling 'drained again'....the Powergel effect had dissipated after 40min...

Fortunately, it was just a km to go....we completed the 23km in about 2hr30min...a respectable time for the longest distance that Bev had attempted. Brokie, DO, Ultra all came back very strong....and Brokie completed the MF hills and 28km in good form, all these after a 23km run on Friday night....we had to advise her to start tapering and conserve for the big day :). Had a good surprise of 'Sng Pow' from Siew Lee and friends....followed by a carbo-reloading lunch at the Food Centre. Bev was so poofed she hit the bed upon reaching home...my, what a weekend!